Everybody is Kung Fu Fighting, While I Started a Farm

by Little Merger

Rejuvenation of spiritual energy, prevalence of martial arts, and extraordinary awakening, Jiang He said that he didn’t panic at all. With a farm system, farming can become stronger. What should I do if I practice too slowly? Don’t panic, plant some cucumbers to eat. Cucumber effects: clearing away heat and detoxification (relieving hundreds of toxins), strengthening the brain a

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Read Everybody is Kung Fu Fighting, While I Started a Farm Chapter 233 - Daemon Golems online for free - NovelFull

Chapter 233: Daemon Golems

Jiang He jumped in surprise despite his wild thoughts and quickly leapt backwards. Even so, the pitch-black Daemonic Qi was pouring out of the bottom of the ravine and rushing up to the horizon before unfurling, turning into a gigantic daemonic cloud that shrouds the night sky over hundreds of miles.

The bright-white moonlit night sky had instantly turned pitch-black.

Then, before Jiang He could look closely, the Graywolf King leapt out into the surging Daemonic Qi.

Ooom!

The Daemonic Qi cascaded, and the Graywolf King was gone without a trace.

"Eh?"

Jiang He frowned; he was rather surprised.

The Graywolf King… disappeared?

It was not hiding inside the Daemonic Qi—it was well and truly gone.

And though the Daemonic Qi was as black as ink, Jiang He's eyes could pierce it in its entirety, not to mention that he had swept through it with his spirit without finding the Graywolf King at all.

Still, it made sense.

Heritage sites were similar to microworlds in Secret Realms, the inside of which was a separate space of its own. In the instant that the Graywolf King reached the Daemonic Qi, it must have entered the heritage site.

Jiang He could not help laughing.

Did that Graywolf King think that it could escape death by running inside the heritage site?

Striding out, he stepped within the Daemonic Qi.

Ooom!

In the spit second that Jiang He stepped onto the Daemonic Qi, a special power surged towards him, and Jiang He's figure disappeared without a trace in the next instant as well.

Beside the ravine.

Yan Dehao the baldie dove down as well. He stared at the ink-blank Daemonic Qi hesitantly, before gritting his teeth and jumping inside it.

How could he give up when the heritage site was right in front of him?

After around five minutes, the ink-black Daemonic Qi slowly dispersed, and the daemonic cloud phenomenon which hovered up in the skies quickly faded as well.

The heritage site hence closed itself.

The inside of the heritage site.

It was a gray, obscure realm.

Jiang He could not help complaining even as he walked within the microworld, "No wonder heritage sites would not compare to Secret Realms, even though both were manmade—this dulls so much in comparison compared to the Womb Realm."

The Womb Realm of the Diamond Sect had a moon and a sun, rivers as well mountains. Its scenic landscape stretches on vastly, and was ten times the size of Lingzhou city when it comes to surface area.

On the other hand, this heritage site was one-fifth the size of the Womb Realm.

The skies were a blurry gray and there were no celestial bodies above. The Yuan Qi here was quite abundant—twenty-times more concentrated than the outside, but if one observed it closely, they would notice that there were faint traces of Daemonic Qi in that Yuan Qi.

The Yuan Qi that contained Daemonic Qi must greatly benefit Ferals, but it would be a major problem if martial artists absorb it for cultivation.

On another note, it was a barren desert beneath Jiang He's feet.

There was no greenery in this heritage site, and when he looked out, it was sand and weirdly-shaped boulders everywhere.

"Aaaaaaaaaah…"

A frightened cry sounded from the skies above out of the blue. Jiang He looked up to find a figure dropping out of the gray skies. Up in the air, he was flailing his limbs and squealing, yelling loudly when he saw Jiang He, "Help, Miaster Jiang…"

Jiang He was about to do something, but soon stopped.

And then…

Bang!

Yan Dehao slammed heavily on the ground.

Having a burly figure and almost weighing 250 catties, he smashed a human-shape crater into the sand no thanks to the accelerated gravitational force from dropping down from on high.

Jiang He walked up to him and exclaimed in surprise, "Indestructible Diamond?"

He had wanted to help, but stopped when he saw the golden glint over Yan Dehao's body. The fall was only that far, and since the man had cultivated a competent level of Indestructible Diamond, he certainly would not have to worry about getting injured or dying from the fight.

Meanwhile, Yan Dehao dusted his backside and stood up from the ground, clutching his chest as he said miserably, "That was dangerous. If I hadn't mastered Indestructible Diamond, I would be bleeding internally from the fall."

Jiang He: "…"

You slammed face-on to the ground and all the sand was on your front—why are you dusting your butt instead?

After studying Yan Dehao a few times from head to toe, Jiang He then asked in surprise, "You've mastered Indestructible Diamond?"

It did not look that way!

Nonetheless, Yan Dehao's body was dyed with a sheet of golden radiance once he charged his Indestructible Diamond. Origin Qi surrounded him, but there was no materialization of a golden bell.

"That's it?"

Jiang He couldn't help exclaiming, "You hadn't mastered Indestructible Diamond, have you?"

"It is mastery!"

Yan Dehao said with utter confidence. "My grandfather was one of the Shaolin Temple's eighteen Bronze Men, but was banished for breaking temple rules. I was adopted by him when I was three, and cultivated the Indestructible Diamond under his guidance, although I only gained Mastery half a month ago."

Jiang He looked perplexed.

That was Indestructible Diamond?

Could he have created Indestructible Diamond wrongly like he did with the Dragon-Elephant Prajna as well?

It was really likely after he thought about it a little.

"Aside from a golden shine over my body once I charged Indestructible Diamond, I would be shielded with Origin Qi as well. It's the symbol of mastering Indestructible Diamond, although the golden bell silhouette is rather weird…"

Jiang He soon came to a realization.

A golden bell silhouette?

Was that not a Golden Bell Shade in the first place?

In other words, his Indestructible Diamond was a fusion of Indestructible Diamond and Golden Bell Shade?

"Mister Jiang, where is the Graywolf King?"

Meanwhile, unaware of Jiang He's thoughts, Yan Dehao began searching through the sand, and exclaimed ins surprise soon enough, "There's blood over here, Mister Jiang. The Graywolf King must have run in that direction."

Was there even a need to say it?

Jiang He gave Yan Dehao a look.

The heritage site was only that wide, and it was all twenty kilometers of sand dunes which ending was perfectly visible. Aside from the single barren mountain ahead, where else could the Graywolf King hide?

Still, Yan Dehao was quite a sack of luck since he could succeed as an undercover agent amongst the ranks of the Sky Demon Cult, even making his way up to their hierarchy. If his cover wasn't blown over this incident on Mount Dadong, he might even make Cardinal in a few years.

Did the Sky Demon Cult perhaps believed that a person of this level of intelligence would not be a mole?

Either way, Jiang He strode forward towards the barren mountain.

He had only heard of 'heritage sites' before. He was not sure what the structure inside was like or if there would be dangerous elements, which was why he had to focus and be wary.

Yan Dehao stayed right behind Jiang He then, saying, "Mister Jiang, are you really divine-pinnacle?"

"By the way… who on earth planned this?"

"The Sky Demon Cult still believes that you're rank-seven… no, they even thought that you're rank-five. Now, they want to take Lingzhou City and kill you, losing a lot of their forces in the process… I don't think I would have been promoted to Elder so quickly otherwise, Mister Jiang."

"Oh, yeah, Mister Jiang, what is it with this heritage site? I keep having a bad feeling about this…"

Jiang He scowled and gritted his teeth then, but said nothing.

In the meantime, Yan Dehao was still asking every possible question, from where Jiang He lived, whether he had a partner to how many wells there were in his farm and how many Mu his farm area was.

A vein bulged on Jiang He's forehead at that. No longer able to hold back, he icily seethed, "Yan Dehao, do you believe I would kill you with a single slap if you dare to squawk some more?"

"But…"

Feeling rather wronged, Yan Dehao scratched his nose and ears before quietly saying, "Mister Jiang, there really is something wrong with this heritage site. Ever since we came in, my nose and ears had become itchier, and now my face too…"

Even before he finished, he saw that Jiang He had stopped and was staring at him with widened eyes, and so quickly touched his face and exclaimed in shock, "Mister Jiang, are there flowers on my face, Mister Jiang?"

Jiang He said nothing, and merely continued staring at Yan Dehao's face.

A layer of tiny hair that resembled a chick's down had now grown out of Yan Dehao's face. Indeed, his ears had become woolly, just as his nose changed a little, becoming rather aquiline.

It was not the standard aquiline nose either, but really hooked and curved like an eagle's beak…

"What the heck!"

"I… what's wrong with him?"

Noticing his own transformation, Yan Dehao quickly whipped out a mirror to check. His face dropped instantly and he exclaimed in shock, "Jiang He, help me, help me! How am I supposed to meet my girlfriend if I returned like this… surely I can't tell her that I was a successful double agent for six years, but failed to protect the handsome face she likes so much?"

Jiang He scowled, his entire being becoming miserable.

Could you go away with that handsomeness?

Nonetheless, he smiled and teased, "No worries, Grandmaster Yan. As you've put it, you have been a double agent for six years. She must have thought you were dead… and after six years, her kid probably has learnt to use the soy sauce bottle by now."

Thunderstruck, Yan Dehao spaced out for a moment before muttering bitterly, "No wonder Minister Wang was being vague when I asked about her awhile ago, even telling me not to mind too much about relationships…"

"…"

Jiang He did a double take.

He was actually on the money?

Nonetheless, now was not the time to care about such things. After feeling around a little, Jiang He soon discovered what was unusual with Yan Dehao and asked, "Did you absorb the Yuan Qi in this heritage site?"

When Yan Dehao nodded, Jiang He continued, "Stop absorbing the Yuan Qi here to cultivate. It's thick with Daemonic Qi, and your mutation must have been because you absorbed it excessively, causing your body to change. Try to grind away the energies you just absorbed and see if the mutations fades."

"Alright!"

Yan Dehao quickly did as he was told.

At the same time, Jiang He continued forward, but when he was just two and a half kilometers away from the barren mountain, he paused, his expression twitching as he looked ahead.

Boom!

The ground and the entire mountain were shaking just head. Soon, the ground split opened as nine figures climbed out from beneath: some were wolves, some were tigers or panthers, and two were eagles.

"Ferals?"

"No…. they aren't real Ferals—they aren't alive."

Jiang He was quite surprised.

With a sweep of his spirit, he promptly noticed that those nine Ferals were different.

They looked identical to real Ferals but simply had no signs of life. The most unique aspect about them was that they were not flesh and blood on the joints, but a special material that were neither metal nor wood.

Special lifeforms?

Mechanical golems?

Meanwhile, the Graywolf King's gigantic figure appeared upon the peak of the barren mountain too.

Rearing its head to howl at the skies, it then opened its mouth and laughed. "Jiang He! This king has been acknowledged by the heritage site and granted over control of the nine daemon golems, each of which are as strong as I am and could attack in a combined formation. They are capable of killing Feral Emperors too—so die!"

Awooooo!

The Graywolf King howled once again, and the nine daemon golems all charged towards Jiang He!

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Chapter 234: The Golem Army Treasure and the Bloating Graywolf King

The nine daemon dolems were each equivalent to Feral Kings and veteran Feral Kigns at that. The air boomed as they charged in synchrony, gusting a daemonic wind—behind Jiang He, Yan Dehao cried out in shock and turned to run, but the two flying daemon golems were so quick that they had already cut off his escape.

"Brother, don't kill me!"

Yan Dehao, his legs shaking promptly released True Qi and casted Indestructible Diamond, dyeing himself gold.

His physical strength was powerful thanks to mastering Indestructible Diamond and he would not fear any pinnacle tier-nine martial artist, even fight equally against one or two rank-nine elites with complete grasp over the Boundary of Wills.

Even so… he was panicking complete when he is up against daemon golems that were equivalent to Feral Kings, and two of them at that.

Fortunately, neither daemon golems thought of Yan Dehao as an enemy. Instead, with a flap of their wings, they streaked towards Jiang He.

Atop the barren mountain, the Graywolf King was laughing in human speech, saying, "Jiang He, this king will be off to inherit the legacy in this heritage site and entertain you no longer!"

A bloody evil glint flashed in its eyes, and its laughter changed to a growl of immeasurable hatred. "When I ascend, I shall slaughter Lingzhou City and bathe the entire city in blood, as an offering to the perished souls of my children!"

With that, his figure disappeared without a trace in a flash.

Jiang He's gaze darkened. He repelled a tiger golem that lunged at him with a palm and sidestepped to evade a panther golem's ambush, but the second ambush by another daemon golem saw it land its razor-sharp claws squarely on Jiang He's back.

Jiang He's jersey was torn apart, and his back…

Was left with several long red scars.

"What the hell!"

Yan Dehao, who was hiding behind Jiang He gaped… even that did not pierce Jiang He's defenses?

What physique was that?!

Meanwhile, as Jiang He continued exchanging blows with the daemon golems, he could not help chuckling, "Interesting, these daemon golems… their strength is equivalent to middling Feral Kings."

It was as if he was having a leisurely stroll under the encirclement of the nine daemon golems. However, it did not matter even if he could not escape in time and was hit by them, since they could not penetrate their defenses either way.

Out of the blue, Jiang He burst out, reaching out with his hand to grab one of the flying daemon golems' claws, pulling out of the skies and slamming it into the ground. "Buster, do I really have to give you face?" He seethed in rage.

Forget scratching his back to clear my itch—you are reaching with your claws to my face?

Don't you know you shouldn't hit the face while fighting?

Even so, Jiang He mishandled his strength…

With a dull rumble, the ground split apart and the flying daemon golem was instantly smashed into pieces, and a round pearl the size of a soccer ball landed at a corner.

The pearl was glinting in green light and exuding veins of daemonic qi, hence generating a special energy that reassembled the golem's shattered body.

Eh?

Jiang He's eyes lit up.

That thing… actually had such a function?

A term instantly appeared in his mind then: lifesource.

It was a mystical word that often appeared in epic fantasies and tales of immortals, mostly referring to the source of special lifeforms and automatons.

"That said, this might not be lifesource, although that would be close to it. The daemon golems' energy must originate from it!"

Jiang He suddenly became excited as the thoughts crossed his mind!

Planting Feral Corpses were limited to the 'three-tier gap' rule in his own farm… but what if he planted daemon golems such as this?

They were not flesh and blood, and not even living in a stricter definition. It would not be limited by the farm rules when planted, would it?

"There's a good chance!"

"If planted with Mysterious Soil, these nine Feral King golems would most likely become pinnacle Feral King golems!"

Rawr!

Even as the thought crossed Jiang He's mind, the reassembled flying daemon golem suddenly reared its head and cried out shrilly.

A black Daemonic Qi wafted away from its body.

The other eight daemon golems all paused their attack and reared their heads to bellow as well. Thick black Daemonic Qi floated out their bodies as well, forming a curious circulation around each of them and buffed their respective strength. Their aura strengthened considerably, and each of them ascended up to pinnacle Feral King tier.

"Mister Jiang!"

"Run!"

"This must be the combined formation of the daemon golems that the Graywolf King spoke of…"

Seizing the moment, Yan Dehao ran to Jiang He's side and pulled his hand to escape. Even so, how was he able to pull Jiang He along? He even almost stumbled because he was pulling too hard…

Jiang He pulled his hand out in response.

It was really uncomfortable holding hands with an adult man.

Still, there was no time to say anything at the moment, and so Jiang He simply chuckled in curiosity. "It's fine, I was just thinking about testing the power of this so-called combined formation… that said, it looks rather crude from its current performance. It's like the ultimate move of sorcerers that needs charging before activation, and the seconds needed to charge is enough for me to blow them up over ten times."

Meanwhile, the nine daemon golems were attacking once again.

Charging his True Qi, the silhouette of suns appeared behind Jiang He. In that very moment, he had casted everything from Indestructible Diamond, Dragon-Elephant Prajna to Nine-Star Heavenly Body Formula. A dragon's roar and an elephant's trumpeting echoed from within his body, and various phenomena burst out from around him while he attacked with the Eighteen Dragon Subduing Palms!

Rawr!

A dragon's roar thundered through the skies.

Moments later…

All nine daemon golems were blown up, and Jiang He walked up, releasing his mana to restrain the nine pearls directly.

Since the Daemonic Qi within the pearls were unable to unfurl, the daemon golems naturally could not reassemble. With that, Jiang He picked up the pearls and the scattered parts of the daemonic golems, stuffing everything down his System Backpack while sighing in disappointment. "That Graywolf King was just boasting… the combine formation, may buff the golems' strength up to pinnacle Feral King, but wouldn't they fall short against Void-tier elites or Feral Emperors?"

On the other hand, Yan Dehao was utterly dumbstruck.

Illusion!

Everything appearing before his eyes must be illusions.

Although he had no idea what the daemon golems actually were, there was no mistaking that pinnacle Feral King aura. And yet, you actually managed to destroy them all with a series of slaps even if there was nine of them combined?

Yan Dehao only came to his senses after a while.

He chuckled bitterly… and suddenly felt a curious pity towards the Sky Demon Cult.

Were they all fools over there?

They could have mistreated everyone else, but did they have to put Jiang He on top of their hit list?

Being an undercover agent embedded in the leadership of the Sky Demon Cult, Yan Dehao had very strong memories of his days amongst them. He was not the Fourth Elder but a newly promoted 'core believer' at the time, hence receiving strong grooming of their faith.

That being said, there were only nine elder seats in the Sky Demon Cult.

Even the other positions were absolutely fixed—36 Grands, 72 Heavenly Generals. Still, Yan Dehao's experience was lacking despite his ability.

Indeed, he had been prepared to collaborate with the Martial Arts Department (MAD) to secure some accomplishments and climb the ranks, hence digging more information from within the cult. Even so, Yan Dehao was suddenly promoted to Grand one day for some reason.

After asking around, he learned that the cult had suffered devastating losses in their effort to occupy Lingzhou City in Xibei. Several Heavenly Generals, as well as two Grands—Killer Star and Pain Star were reportedly killed.

From that point onward, various obituaries were relayed consecutively back to the Sky Demon Cult, and there would be intelligence personnel looking for Senior Elder to give their reports every other day!

"Oh, no, Senior Elder! Killer Star is dead!"

"Oh, no, Senior Elder! Pain Star and several heavenly generals are dead!"

"Oh, no, Lord Sentinel, Senior Elder! Sixth Elder is dead!"

"Third Elder, Guilty Star, and Bound Star are dead!"

"Lord Sentinel of the Left, Cardinal Wang! Senior Elder, Flowing Cloud Holy Child and Lord Sentinel of the Right are dead!"

Pfft.

Yan Dehao could not hold back his laughter at that thought.

This time, it was the Sentinel of the Left, two Cardinals, five Elders as well as many Holy Children and Grands… the people at the Sky Demon Cult's intelligence department would probably be afraid to report to the Saint, would they not?"

"What are you laughing about, Grandmaster Yan?"

Jiang He asked when he saw Yan Dehao's silly smile, after putting away the daemon golems.

Yan Dehao stopped smiling and said, "Just remembering something pleasant."

At that, his tone changed as he turned to the barren mountain ahead with a frown. "What's with this heritage site, Mister Jiang?"

"It is overflowing with Daemonic Qi and several daemon golems even popped up. And then there is the Graywolf King getting acknowledged by the heritage itself… perhaps this heritage site isn't a human legacy?"

Jiang He nodded as he strode towards the barren mountain, smiling, "I was afraid that this heritage site is a daemonic legacy."

Nonetheless, after they walked a lap around the barren mountain and even climbed it, they found nothing unusual.

The barren mountain was not actually that huge and was just around 1800 meters tall. There was no vegetation on the mountain either and only had a few weird rocks, making it easy to search—even so, neither Jiang He nor Yan Dehao found anything resembling a passageway even after searching through the mountain for a whole day.

"Mister Jiang, the Graywolf King disappeared from here, but there are no passageways… could it have learned earth-type techniques?"

Yan Dehao was perplexed. "It must be inside the belly of the mountain, but how did it enter without a passageway? We can't slice the mountain in two, could we?"

Jiang He's expression changed at that.

He had certainly struck a blind-spot in knowledge, only focusing on finding a passageway. However, since they could not find a way, they just had to resort to another method.

After all, a mountain that was eighteen hundred meters tall was not that huge. All he had to do was cut it apart with his sword.

Taking to the skies, Jiang He raised his Scarlet Flame Sword, glancing at Yan Dehao who was on the ground and saying, "Master Yan, please step back."

Yan Dehao retreated thirty meters away and looked up at the horizon in confusion, only to find the sword burning with scarlet flames hovering above Jiang He's head suddenly extending up to a hundred meters in a split second.

"Flying sword!

"It's the flying sword of legends!"

Yan Dehao was shocked. He had seen the sword outside before but took no notice, although he now thought of some secret texts that he read at the Sky Demon Cult when Jiang He raised the Scarlet Flame Sword.

"It was written that Qi Refinists who honed qi and immortal arts existed before the Qin dynasty, and their immortal arts grants them the ability to wield mystical flying swords, decapitating people from a thousand miles away…. Could Jiang He have inherited a cultivator's legacy?"

Yan Dehao thought even as he checked the distance between the barren mountain and himself, instinctively retreating several hundred meters more.

That was when scarlet sword radiance blazed over the skies, displaying all the gray mist up in the skies of the heritage site.

Jiang He pointed his finger up, and then down—

Whoosh!

The gigantic hundred-meter sword hence shot up, and then down!

A thousand-meter-long Sword Qi burst out of the gigantic sword!

At the same time.

An ancient temple inside the barren mountain.

Various stone statues stood around the temple, all of which were daemons with human bodies and beast heads. All of them had different features such as being thirty-feet tall, wings, three legs, or fearsome looks.

And at the edge of the temple was a wolf-headed person, who was sitting cross-legged in meditation while wearing silver armor, a bottle gourd that looked vaguely metal and wooden placed before him.

Beneath his knees was a jade scroll inscribed with a daemonic cultivation method.

As a matter of fact, it was a corpse and not a sculpture, but it did not rot although it had been dead for untold years.

Holding itself off the ground with its two front paws, the Graywolf King arrived before the corpse and prostrated itself. "Pioneer senior, I am the Graywolf of Mount Dadong. I shall fulfill your wish after receiving your legacy today, and restore the glory of our wolf tribe."

The Graywolf King then rose and poured its fresh blood upon the pitch-black bottle-gourd.

Ooom!

A Daemonic Qi shot out from the bottle gourd and covered the Graywolf King completely. The Feral King's body hence altered rapidly, its gray fur quickly turning pitch-black while the legs that Jiang He chopped off swiftly regenerating. Through it all, its aura was ascending, reaching pinnacle Feral King levels in a flash.

Soon…

The Graywolf King stopped morphing.

Its aura did not reach Feral Emperor levels, but was not far from it.

Its wolf form was vaguely turning into a human's.

Its front paws had turned into hands, and it was now standing like a human, hugging the bottle gourd as it laughed fearsomely. "These golem soldiers…"

"With this, I could kill even Feral Emperors!"

The Graywolf King hence reached out with his hand, stripping the wolf-head body's silver armor, and offering a blood drop in sacrifice.

After that, it opened its head and exhaled, breathing into the bottle gourd. All at once, the bottle gourd enlarged while a blood-colored air blade shot out, slicing a nearby stone sculpture in two with a shank.

"So strong!"

Delighted, the Graywolf King laughed. "With this bottle gourd, killing Jiang He is as easy as counting to three…"

And yet, the Graywolf King's face dropped in the next split second.

The entire mountain was suddenly splitting apart…

"Eh?

"Is that slash so terrific that a light strike like that could cut the mountain? But I was aiming for the stone sculpture, not the mountain!"

The Graywolf King was bewildered as it looked up to find the barren mountain parting in two.

Jiang He was high up in the skies, the Scarlet Flame Sword hovering above. When he looked down beneath, he exclaimed in surprise, "Graywolf King? How did you turn black?"

It dyed its fur in no time at all?

Report chapter

Chapter 235: Kill This King If You Have What It Takes!

Boom!

The barren mountain split in two, its two fragments falling to both sides and causing a resounding rumble, while dust kicked up all over the heritage site.

Jiagn He flung his sleeves, blowing away the dust.

"Die!"

Swish!

That was when the Graywolf King took to the air as a black shadow, lunging at Jiang He and swinging its claws through the air down at Jiang He's head. Laughing in response, Jiang He unleashed both his physical strength and True Qi, slapping the Graywolf King and sending it flying a thousand feet away.

Finally coming to a stop, the Graywolf King glanced at its bleeding right paw, a wariness flashing upon its blood-colored gaze.

Jiang He was much stronger than it thought!

"Not bad, not bad."

Nonetheless, Jiang He did not press his attack after repelling the Graywolf King, but instead studied the Graywolf King with interest. "I didn't expect that you would become stronger when you turn black," he chuckled. "You must be pinnacle Feral King now, aren't you?"

"Still, you would now have more moves and combat ability after gaining daemonic cultivation. You should be standing between the level of Feral King and Feral Emperor now, aren't you?"

Jiang He was very delighted with the Graywolf King's developed abilites.

After all… Dumbo and Trumbo sorely needed the daemonic cultivation method.

And since his willow tree and Cloudscraper Vine could use it as well, it would be better the stronger they get.

Hence, with a point of his finger, Jiang He's Scarlet Flame Sword turned into light as it shot towards the Graywolf King. Now that things had come to this, there was no need for words—he just had to kill the Graywolf King.

With White Foal Crosses the Rift, the Scarlet Flame Sword almost instantly cut down on the Graywolf King's body. Even though the blow sent the Graywolf King flying backwards over a thousand meters, it did not inflict any actual damage.

A silver combat armor appeared over its body then.

It covered almost all of the Graywolf King's body, only exposing its facial features, its claws and tail.

"Oh?"

"A mystic armor?"

Jiang He was surprise.

Daemons could use mystic treasures?

Huh…

I guess they could?

The armor was very cool, and if he took it for Dumbo… would it not look awesome?

As Jiang He imagined that sight despite his surprise, the Graywolf King appeared even more surprise.

The sword did not hurt it, but the Daemon Mystic Armor almost did not manage to stop that cut, and might fall apart after another handful of blows.

After all, mystic treasures were divided between tiers too.

Jiang He's Scarlet Flame Sword, being a premium soul weapon, assuredly outclassed the silver armor in tier.

Be that as it may, neither the Graywolf King nor Jiang He knew that. After all, the Graywolf King had just inherited its legacies and did not even have the time to read the daemonic cultivation method written on the jade scroll.

Likewise, how would Jiang He, one who learnt immortal arts by 'farming' have knowledge about refining items?

Nonetheless, as Jiang He moved his Scarlet Flame Sword and was about to attack a second time, the Graywolf King suddenly whipped out a pitch-black bottle gourd.

It took to the air, rapidly enlarging as the Daemonic Qi within shot out. The Graywolf King then breathed, spitting Daemonic Qi and its essence onto the bottle gourd—with a shake and a hum, a blood-colored blade slash shot out towards Jiang He.

Caught off guard, Jiang He was slashed by the blade on the shoulder. With a dull grunt, he looked down to find it bleeding profusely, with a five-inch wound cut into it.

"Woah!"

Jiang He inhaled sharply.

That bottle gourd…

Was that a daemon treasure too?

Not only could it release blackened qi, it could fire blade slashes at him too?

Well, at least now it felt like a Xianxia novel…

The Graywolf King's eyes tightened, its mind churning in astonishment…

What the hell?

It had already offered a blood sacrifice to the bottle gourd, and certainly knows of its power. Logically speaking, a full-power charged blade was a pinnacle-level blow even for Feral Emperors, but it only managed a skin-deep cut on Jiang He?

And being the owner of the bottle gourd, the Graywolf King had a clear sense of what happened: When the blood-colored slash cut through Jiang He's flash and landed on his shoulder blade, it could not even budge forward…

Huff!

Not one to believe in bad luck, the Graywolf King widened its maw and breathed even more Daemonic Qi and essence into the bottle gourd.

Another blood-colored slash, one which was horrific than the strike before tore through the air, and there were three slashes this time!

Swinging his Scarlet Flame Sword, Jiang He cut down two of the slashes, but the last one landed squarely on his chest, splitting it open and bleeding him from on high.

Keeping the bottle gourd on his head, the Graywolf King growled, "Jiang He, you would never best this king, and the opposite holds true too. Let's call a truce and never cross paths again, and this king will never intrude upon Lingzhou. What say you?"

"What do you mean, I can't best you?"

Jiang He was rather surprised.

What was that vermin talking about?

Was it belittling him?

He tore his shirt open to look at his chest and the scar on his shoulder—both were merely flesh wounds, although his recover might prove slow if the wound was a little too large and he did not put on a little countermeasure.

In the very least, he would need a good night's sleep to heal those.

"This king[1] had obtained treasures of a senior wolf. With this armor that you could not pierce protecting me and the blade gourd slashing at you, my full power strike would not take much to… eh?"

The Graywolf King was suddenly stunned before it could finish.

It saw Jiang He draw out two weird objects…

They were rectangular and half a foot long, and it appears as if something was pasted on it. After tearing that off, Jiang He pasted it on his wound.

In fact, it actually was… a supersized band-aid.

Of course, the Graywolf King never seen one before, which was why its blood-colored eyes looked utterly bewildered.

What on earth was that?

It had clashed more than a few times against the divine-tier elite of Yuzhen. Even when he had been injured by its claws, he never used that!

Meanwhile, after Jiang He put on two band-aids, he felt apprehensive… He was so hurt and the wound was not disinfected, so wouldn't it be unhygienic to put on band-aids directly?

Could it…

Get infected?

He took out to Amoxicillin capsules and took them just in case, before smiling. "Daemonic mystic armor? Blade bottle gourd? Some nice mystic items you have there, and it would certainly fit my dog…"

"You wish to claim my treasure?"

The Graywolf King smirked, saying, "Delusional, unless you have what it takes to kill this king!"

"Alright!"

Jiang he nodded and replied seriously. "Then I'll kill you!"

Summoning with an extended hand to withdraw his Scarlet Flame Sword, Jiang He pointed out at the Graywolf King.

In the next split second, the sea of swords in Jiang He's mind hummed.

A illusory sword light materialized in the blink of an eye, and Jiang he imbued a part of his spirit into it. Controlling it with his mind, it cut towards the Graywolf King.

Shing!

The hum of his sword resounded throughout the heritage site.

Veins of blinding sword light erupted, instantly consuming the Graywolf King. The beast was devoid of life when the light eventually faded, and it dropped out of the sky with a loud bang.

Having used the Twenty-Three Swords, Jiang He's face went pale, although there was a look of delight just beneath his gaze.

With a part of his spirit wounded, he finally felt drowsy.

Well, he was done fighting anyway.

Time to collect the spoils of war, go home and sleep!

At the same time.

Back at the Martial Arts Department of Jingdu City, Wang Hou was scowling. "Could you reach Jiang He yet?"

"No, his phone is not getting network coverage."

"What about Yan Dehao?"

"It's not getting through either. Moreover, it's usually him contacting me, and I don't have any way to reach him—for the sake of his safety." Zhou Yu replied, pondering a while before saying, "That said, Yun Dehao would be alright with Jiang He around, Minister Wang."

"Did you reach out to Lingzhou City then? Does anyone know Jiang He's whereabouts?"

Wang Hou pressed. "We at least could get an idea what the kid is actually doing, can't we?"

Zhou Yu shook his head. "They have no idea what Jiang He is doing over there… although Cheng Dongfeng of the Eight Trigrams School had mentioned that Jiang He told him about guarding Mount Dadong when they met in the afternoon. Could Jiang He have lost his cool and ran off to blow up Mount Dadong?"

Wang Hou: "…"

He was rather astonished even though he was a Void-tier elite, but he soon shook his head, saying, "That can't be, could it? I only told him to guard Lingzhou City and prevent the Graywolf King from stirring a Feral rampage, there's no need to blow up Mount Dadong… is there?"

Zhou Yu mused to himself for seconds, nodding and then shaking his head.

Reasonably speaking, Jiang He would not do that…

But was reason applicable to Jiang He?

Still, there was no need to fuss over that question. Yan Dehao would not have problems with Jiang He around anyway, and so Zhou Yu cut to chase, "Minister Wang, the military just sent a message saying that the Dragoncroc Emperor had visited Beihu Base City, saying that it does not wish to wage war against human over what happened with the Golden-Winged Roc…"

"It also added that it would pacify all the Feral Kings so that they did not attack humans on purpose, but the condition for that is that we continue keeping the agreement we had before, especially Jiang He—he must not kill any other Feral King from now on."

"Oh?"

Amused, Wang Hou smiled. "The Dragoncroc Emperor is caving?"

Still, his smile soon faded.

The Dragoncroc Emperor's power… was inscrutable!

Most importantly, it was very discreet, but being discreet did not mean it was agreeable.

A Feral Emperor of their level, caving?

At that, Wang Hou could not help rubbing his temples and remembering what the Dragoncroc Emperor said back at Mount Golden Roc….

The number of daemonic eminences were not as many as it looks.

"But the question is… did those eminences that the Dragoncroc Emperor spoke of came to be after the Revival of Qi, or before?"

Wang Hou thought.

It was possible that they were born after the Revival of Qi, although that was not very likely. All known Feral Emperors across the globe were horrific creatures that exist even before the Revival of Qi, and while they were not as powerful then as they were now, they became intelligent decades or even centuries ago, hence assuming the path of evolution!

Rising to his feet, Wang Hou walked to his window.

He looked out somberly at the distant night scene of Jingdu City, and then spoke quietly, seemingly to himself and to Zhou Yu, "Are those daemon eminences Feral Emperors themselves, or stronger than Feral Emperors? If they existed even before the Revival of Qi, how long had they actually existed?"

A hundred years?

Three hundred years?

Five hundred years?

Or…

Even longer?

Wang Hou turned around to look at Zhou Yu and smiled. "Old Zhou, get that military elite stationed at Beihu Base City to talk to Dragoncroc Emperor, and tell it that I want to meet.

Was the Dragoncroc Emperor unwilling to fight?

Or was it the daemon elites backing it unwilling to fight?

It did not matter now either way, since a discussion would reveal all intentions.

Naturally, it would be best if they did not fight since that gives humans the chance to develop. But if they want to fight… the humans would fear nothing, or at least those in the Hua Nation.

[1] the king is referring to itself

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Chapter 236: It Really Wasn't Me!

"Yes, Minister Wang. I'll contact Commander Li right now."

Zhou Yu nodded—he was certainly competent since he was both Wang Hou's deputy and representative, and he certainly could call the shots on many matters.

As for Wang Hou…

Would he have the time to deal with such trivial tasks?

Today he would be cultivating in seclusion, and tomorrow he would be wandering outside, occasionally searching for heritage sites as well as studying certain history events, and would not be at his office for more than a handful of times in a month.

Even if he was back, he would be twiddling his thumbs and having tea from his Thermos cup, and would only make the decisions when there really is something important.

Still, Wang Hou called out to Zhou Yu just as he was about to leave and said, "Old Zhou, send word that no one should start conflict with the Feral Kings before I negotiated with the Dragoncroc Emperor."

"Oh, and contact Jiang He—have him cultivate quietly for a while."

For some reason, Wang Hou was unsettled once he thought about Jiang He.

The call was not getting through… could that kid have gone off to start trouble?

Did Cheng Dongfeng of the Eight Trigrams School not suspect Jiang He blew up Mount Dadong?

That said, was that not too far-fetched?

Even if Jiang He really has too much free time on his hands, how vast was Mount Dadong? Could he blow up hundreds of kilometers of land?

Meanwhile, inside the daemon heritage site of Mount Dadong.

Jiang He landed, and pried the daemonic mystic armor and slashing bottle gourd from the Graywolf King's corpse. Having experience from cultivating his Scarlet Flame Sword, Jiang He found how these two daemonic weapons and human mystic treasures differed.

That said, they were not all that different, since they were both basically mystic treasures!

After cultivation, those mystic treasures were nourished by blood and Daemonic Qi, imbuing it with concentrated and Daemonic Qi. If human cultivators attempted to use those daemonic weapons, they would first have to use their spells to grind away the Daemonic Qi on those weapons before giving blood offerings.

"But while they are both mystic treasures, why do I feel like the daemonic mystic armor be so lacking in quality?"

Jiang He thought as he studied the silver armor. "If this was an immortal novel and the different classes of mystic treasures apply, the silver armor is probably a mystic item and less than a soul item."

"On the other hand, the air blades from this bottle gourd are not weak, and would probably be a soul item."

Above Mystic items, soul items would be sage items and immortal weapons—although Jiang He was not sure about the specifics.

Either way, this slashing bottle gourd was very special.

Once nourished with Daemonic Qi and mana, it could be charged with Daemonic Qi and one's essence to release those blood-colored slashes. Of course, human cultivator would need to nourish it with their mana if they wish to use it.

"But it's useless for me. I'll bring it back and give it to Dumbo and Trumbo."

Putting away the slashing bottle gourd and the silver armor, Jiang He searched around once more to find a jade scroll from the Graywolf King's body. The text was written in a special script that Jiang He felt a throbbing headache just from looking at it…

He could not understand a single word!

"Well, this might be a daemonic cultivation method. I'll talk to Wang Hou later to see if he has someone who could get it translated."

Naturally, he would leave the Graywolf King's corpse either.

It was after he had retrieved everything when Yan Dehao ran up to him from the distance.

To prevent him from going on chatterbox mode again, Jiang He spoke first, "Grandmaster Yan, let's search this heritage site thoroughly for other treasures and legacy items."

"Why bother?"

Yan Dehao scowled—the daemonic attributes that grew out of his face was still fresh in his memory, and he added, "Didn't you say before, that since this is a daemonic heritage site, us humans might not find the treasures there useful.

"I'll exchange any treasures or legacy items you could find with cultivation resources of equal value."

"Really?"

Delighted, Yan Dehao promptly searched around the heritage site as well. Even so, the heritage site was only that vast that vast, but neither he nor Jiang He found nothing after searching around.

Perhaps it was because this heritage site was one of the poorer ones, which was why the silver armor, slashing bottle gourd and daemonic cultivation is everything the heritage site has to offer.

And since there are no treasures here, there was no need to keep searching.

"By the way… how are we supposed to leave, Mister Jiang?"

Yan Dehao suddenly asked meekly.

Jiang He did a double take.

Right.

How were they supposed to leave?

While this daemonic heritage site did not match the Diamond Sect's Womb Realm, but this was a mircroworld that formed naturally. Would it only open after a wek?

How boring would that be?

Whipping out his phone for a look, Jiang He saw that there was no signal on his phone at all.

Well…

Even his idea to contact Wang Hou, a veteran who had entered heritage sites repeatedly was impossible now.

"What should we do?"

"What should we do, Mister Jiang? We have no idea how to open this heritage site, and… aren't we locked in here?"

"Mister Jiang…"

Flustered, Yan Dehao was running around in circles and stomped his foot. But just as he was about to continue his rant, a soft crack could be heard beneath him.

He looked down to find that the ground beneath his feet had split open.

It was not just beneath Yan Dehao's feet either. The entire heritage site was shaking, its ground splitting apart as a daemonic wind gusted. Even the gray mist up in the skies was shaking and parting, seemingly churned by an invisible hand.

"How… why is this splitting?"

Yan Dehao exclaimed in shock. "Mister Jiang, I was not really using strength!"

Jiang He grabbed him at once and took to the air, and rushed towards the rift in the skies. The world seemed to spin around them the moment they reached the rift in the sky, after of which they arrived at the bottom of the ravine before.

Boom!

A dull echo rumbled, and Jiang He soon felt the ravine shaking as well. The tremor began to extend across every direction, and soon enough, all of Mount Dadong was shaking.

"Mister Jiang, I really wasn't using that much power!

"I didn't stomp that hard, you have to believe me!"

Yan Dehao cried, but Jiang He ignored that entirely as he held him with one hand and rose up to the night sky. The ravine crumbled violently just as he reached the horizon, and the rumbling continued deafeningly, with dirt and ground kicking up into the night sky.

The violent quaking from the ground's grumbling only stopped after six minutes.

With a gust of True Qi, Jiang He blew away the dust storm as he descended. He then found that several dozen kilometers of land had collapsed entirely around the ravine, just as the massive earthquake cracked apart, stretching out over fifty kilometers, with untold peaks split apart, reduced to crumbled mountains and slopes.

"Woah!"

Jiang He could not help gasping.

Wasn't that simply… frightening?

How major would the chain reaction be caused by the collapse of the heritage site?

Fortunately, the heritage site was inside Mount Dadong.

If it had been beneath a city, would the entire city not collapse into debris?

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Chapter 237: What Earthquake?

In that very moment, Jiang He could not help thinking about the word 'apocalypse'!

Over dozens of miles of land was reduced to wasteland, and the tremendous tremors rifts extended over fifty kilometers, with numerous mountainous bodies splitting apart. Upon it, every Feral in Mount Dadong was squealing in panic as they fled.

Yan Dehao was utterly frightened by the sight.

He was shaking even after they landed at the wasteland, wailing, "Jiang He, it really wasn't me… I was just stamping the ground out of impatience, and then this happened."

Jiang He eyed Yan Dehao.

'This fool… is such an actor!

'Don't you know whether it was you who caused this whole mess?

'If you really could crush the whole heritage site by causing an avalanche with your foot, why bother becoming an undercover agent at the Sky Demon Cult? You could have crushed them alone.'

"Oh, what a shame."

Jiang He could not help shaking his head and sighing after a look at the rubble before him.

That sigh left the crying Yan Dehao promptly stop his tears, and he turned towards Jiang He in shock.

'What a shame?

'Aren't you the biggest winner here tonight?

'You managed to slay two cardinals, the Sentinel of the Left, Fifth Elder, several Holy Children, a handful of Decans and the Graywolf King, even retrieving the legacy items and tressures in the heritage site…

'And you still look disappointed?'

He was not aware that Jiang He was regretting the loss of the Sky Demon Cultists' corpses.

The Graywolf King's corpse was collected, sure, just as the average high-ranked Feral corpses were too weak physically and in qi for him to retrieve them—even to feed his dog. On the other hand, the corpse of the two cardinals, the Sentinel of the Left, Fifth Elder, Holy Children as well as Decans were wasted, buried beneath the collapsed mountains.

He would definitely grow many blades of grave grass if he planted them.

After that, he would feed them to Dumbo and Trumbo, and definitely improve their ability greatly.

"Still, that doesn't matter. The corpse may stay buried beneath ground, since both Dumbo and Trumbo had awakened earth-type powers anyway—I'll call Cheng Dongfeng to send them here later, and they would dig those corpses out soon enough."

After all…

Neither Dumbo nor Trumbo had been too far away from home, and certainly not Mount Dadong. What if they get lost on the way if he told them to get here on their own?

The Martial Arts Department (MAD) Lingzhou City.

Cheng Dongfeng rubbed his sleepy eyes, groaning as he entered Duan Tianhe's office and found both Duan Tianhe and Ji Dongxu present, exclaiming in surprise, "Old Duan, Grandmaster Ji. What happened? Why aren't you sleeping in the middle of the night?"

"Earthquake. Don't you know?"

Duan Tian He gave Cheng Dongfeng a look. How could a martial arts grandmaster like you sleep so soundly?

Not even an earthquake could wake you up?

Nonetheless, considering Cheng Dongfeng's personality and that the tremor in Lingzhou City was rather weak, it made sense that he felt nothing. Indeed, he would not notice much when he's up, let alone asleep.

Duan Tianhe's tone changed then as he said, "I've contacted the seismology center, and it seems that the epicenter is Mount Dadong. The data they provided is also weird—the epicenter is shallow and might not be natural, although they also determined that the tremors exceed level nine on the Richter scale at the most violent spot of the earthquake's reach."

Cheng Dongfeng promptly lost all drowsiness.

Mount Dadong?

An earthquake above level 9?

Fortunately, the epicenter was shallow, or the tremors would be far more severe if it was deep. Still, it did not matter all that much since the earthquake occurred at Mount Dadong.

Cheng Dongfeng could not help but laugh then, "Isn't that cause for celebration? It would be even better if that earthquake buried those vermin… hold on, Old Duan, what do you mean, the earthquake might not be natural?"

He blinked and came to a realization before he finished.

If it was not natural… did that mean it was manmade?

And for some reason, Jiang He immediately came to mind.

He suddenly remembered that Zhou Yu called to ask about Jiang He's whereabouts, and he even laughed at the time 'could Jiang He have run off to blow up Mount Dadong?'

A strange look appeared on Cheng Dongfeng's face then.

What the hell!

Did Jiang He really do that? Did he blow up Mount Dadong?

His joke even became true?

"Old Duan… Did you manage to contact Jiang He?"

Cheng Dongfeng's voice became rather hoarse, and what Jiang He told him in the afternoon came to mind… That he would resolve the problem on Mount Dadong with a dependable solution.

But did blowing up Mount Dadong count as a dependable solution?

Hmm…

To Jiang He, it might.

Duan Tianhe shook his head, saying, "Deputy Zhou called him several times, and I could not reach him over an hour ago either."

"Send someone to his house if he could not be reached?"

Cheng Dongfeng became flustered. "Didn't Deputy Zhou say before, Minister Wang is going to talk to the Dragoncroc Emperor, and before they come to an accord, we must convince Jiang He to cultivate quietly and not start any trouble… and now he can't be reached…"

Touching his chest, Cheng Dongfeng felt a little panicked.

Could Jiang He had started trouble?

"I did send someone, but once they reached Jiang He's house, a dog wielding a sword chased them off." Duan Tianhe laughed bitterly and feebly.

A dog wielding a sword?

It would be such a bizarre sight.

Nonetheless, he found it logical once he remembered that Jiang He owned that dog.

"Old Cheng, I know what you're thinking, but this probably has nothing to do with Jiang He. He likes his bombs, but according to him, those are all just homemade bombs that wouldn't be that powerful."

"Moreover, if we could feel the tremors here at Lingzhou City over a hundred and fifty kilometers away, the yield must have been horrific, and we could see the explosion from here since it's night."

After hearing out Duan Tianhe's logical analysis, Cheng Dongfeng couldn't help nodding and feeling much relieved.

Nonetheless, he would go to Jiang He's house just to be sure—the risk of being beaten up was fine even if it was past four in the morning now.

Still, Cheng Dongfeng's phone rang just as he rose to his feet.

He whipped out his phone, shuddering once he saw the caller ID, and throw the phone away immediately.

"What?"

Duan Tianhe and Ji Dongxu appeared a little puzzled.

"It's Jiang He!"

Cheng Dongfeng took a deep breath before picking up the phone carefully again, muttering to himself, "Am I being too nervous? Maybe Jiang He is calling me to ask about the earthquake after getting jolted awake?"

He answered the call.

Over on the other end, Jiang He's voice spoke, "Were you sleeping, grandson?"

The entire office fell into awkward silence at the word 'grandson'.

Cheng Dongfeng laughed out loud after seeing Duan Tianhe and Ji Dongxu's weird stares, changing the topic, "Jiang He, is something the matter? Oh, right, did you know about the earthquake?"

"Jiang He?"

Back at the rubble that was Mount Dadong.

Jiang He frowned.

Old Cheng was really inflated!

He was calling me grand-master in the afternoon, and now he's calling me directly by name?

But now was not the time to mind such things.

"Earthquake? Was there an earthquake in Lingzhou City?"

"Yes."

Cheng Dongfeng answered. "The seismology center told us that the epicenter is Mount Dadong, but it seems that the tremors are limited to that area, so it's not a problem."

"Nonsense."

Jiang He barked. "Who told you that the epicenter is Mount Dadong? The seismology center? Are they trying to be funny? What earthquake? It was only a heritage site collapsing… what does that have to do with earthquakes?"

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Chapter 238: Mocked By A Dog

The Martial Arts Department (MAD).

Cheng Dongfeng was staring blankly at his phone after the call had ended, only coming to his senses for a while.

It wasn't an earthquake?

Just a heritage site collapsing?

…A heritage site had collapsed!!!

His eyes abruptly widened. He turned towards Duan Tianhe and Ji Dongxu who looked equally blanked, and muttered with a hesitant voice, "Old Duan, Grandmaster Ji… did I hear it wrong just now?"

The heritage site of Mount Dadong had collapsed?

"Wait, that's not it!"

Cheng Dongfeng suddenly exclaimed. "It's no secret that there's a heritage site on Mount Dadong, and the elite who guarded Yuzhen had negotiated with the Graywolf King many times before about opening it, but never reached an agreement. Still, the Graywolf King was afraid to open it itself since the ensuing phenomenon would startle us human elites… so why would it do that now?"

The heritage site must be opened before it could collapse, right?

Did Jiang He and the Graywolf king open the heritage site together?

But according to Jiang He's personality, would he sit down with the Graywolf King to discuss opening the heritage site?

Wasn't that impossible?

More like taking the knife to the Graywolf King while discussing it.

Cheng Dongfeng's eyelids twitched at the thought and said hoarsely, "Gentlemen, do you think Jiang He killed the Graywolf King?"

Was there a need to ask?

Duan Tianhe grimaced, rubbing his temples as he said, "It's just been a few hours since Deputy Zhou called us, telling us to relay word to Jiang He so that he wouldn't start trouble. We just didn't imagine that he killed another Feral King in the blink of an eye…"

He sighed helplessly.

But what could be done now that things have come to this?

It was merely a Feral King, and if it was dead, it was dead. At most they would just have to pay additional lip service in the negotiation between Minister Wang and the Dragoncroc Emperor, although Duan Tianhe did not even report the matter at once since it was not yet confirmed that the Graywolf King was dead.

He sought out Bai Feifei and told her, "Gather some personnel. We'll be leaving for Mount Dadong in ten minutes.

Although she was not sure what happened, Bai Feifei did not ask any questions when she saw Jiang He's solemn look, promptly turning and going off to prepare as ordered.

Duan Tianhe turned towards Cheng Dongfeng, remembering something then, "By the way, did Jiang He say anything just now, Old Cheng? I think I heard Dumbo and Trumbo…"

"Dumbo is his dog, Trumbo is his cat."

Cheng Dongfeng explained, "Jiang He told me to bring them to Mount Dadong, that they would be useful."

He almost laughed even as he spoke.

Dumbo?

Trumbo?

Jiang He was such a genius at naming!

Nonetheless, Duan Tianhe took no notice and frowned. "It's over a hundred-and-fifty kilometers to Mount Dadong. Why bring a cat and dog over there?"

Be that as it may…

Twenty minutes later, after Duan Tianhe drove to Jiang He's home, he finally realized how laughable his opinion was!

Dumbo and Trumbo were standing on their rear legs. The dog was folding its front paw in front of its chest and holding an S-grade alloy longsword, while the cat held an S-grade alloy combat blade over its shoulder, which was up to four times its own size.

Then, perhaps because holding it like that was uncomfortable, Trumbo's body shook as it transformed, expanding into the size of an adult person.

And that was not the most important part.

Most importantly, the cat and the dog's aura actually made Duan Tianhe's heart skip a beat.

Gulping while seated at the front passenger seat, he stared at the cat and dog that were approaching his car, quietly muttering, "Old Cheng… Jiang He's cat and dog are already rank seven?"

Rank seven!

And they had not ascended recently!

Would he even win against them?

But surely… he would?

After all, Ferals would not have any advantage against human elites of the same tier since they lack exquisite martial arts, weapons, and combat suits… even if that cat and log looked almost human as they held those weapons, could they really wield it?

Did they know blade techniques?

Swordplay?

Duan Tianhe became calmer at that thought.

Still, while his thoughts were in disarray, Dumbo and Trumbo had arrived beside the car and opened the door, settling down at the backseats primly.

On the driving's seat, Duan Tianhe turned around to smile at Dumbo and Trumbo, chuckling, "Shall we go now, Dumbo, Trumbo?"

"Fool!"

Dumbo suddenly glared, barking, "Are the likes of you allowed to say our great name?"

Each word of its angry exclamation was pronounced in perfect Mandarin without any errors, and most importantly it was so loud that the car shook.

Meeeeoooow!!!

Trumbo actually started mewing too, even lifting its paw, poised to draw its blade. Dumbo, however, reacted quickly and held Trumbo back, shaking its dog head as it said, "Calm down, Trumbo. That ugly man is master's grand-disciple, and master would punish you if you killed it."

Meow?

Trumbo tilted its head in thought, and then reached out a paw to feel around its buttocks, before taking out a piece of grilled meat to eat.

Up front at the driver's seat, Cheng Dongfeng's face went red in irritation, "Who are you calling ugly, dog?"

Dumbo's eyes rolled into his head humanly, it's mouth curling up as it coolly said, "Who's who? Alright, master has called us about this, so let's go right away. Don't make my master wait."

"What the heck…"

Cheng Dongfeng's short temper instantly raged, and this time Duan Tianhe had to hold him down and communicate through Secret Acoustics, "Calm down, Old Cheng, calm down. Why stoop to a dog's level?"

Taking a deep breath several times to calm himself, Cheng Dongfeng then started the car and drove.

Dumbo spoke again just as the ignition started.

This time, he was speaking in Xibei dialect with some degree of disdain, "This car can't be more broken. Why are we still in this? My master's car is so awesome—it drives on its own with voice command. We could sleep while driving, and wake up to find us arriving at our destination."

Duan Tianhe: "…"

What the hell!

The dog's mockery… was so upsetting!

Meanwhile.

Mount Dadong.

Jiang He was keeping Yan Dehao company, sitting on the rubble and asking about the Sky Demon Cult.

After Yan Dehao gave him a simple rundown of what he knows, Jiang He asked uncertainly with a frown, "Grandmaster Yan… isn't your information inaccurate? I heard that the Sky Demon Cult has deep pockets with countless elites, but you're saying that they only have around twenty rank-eight, around five rank-nines, two divine-tier elites, and one Void-tier elite, who is also their leader… aren't their elites too few?"

Yan Dehao clutched his forehead, unable to find the right word just then.

The Sky Demon Cult still had around twenty rank-eight, around five rank-nines, two divine-tier elites, and one Void-tier elite…

And that was weak?

'Fine, they certainly are not that formidable to you, Jiang He, but are you not aware why their elites are dwindling at the moment?

'You killed two when it comes to cardinals alone!

'In addition, both Sentinels, the Senior Elder, as well as Elders Third to Sixth were all killed by your hands. You have also halved the number of Holy Children who amounted to less than ten in the first place, as well as over a dozen of Decans.'

How many elites would the Sky Demon Cult have left after all that?

Beside him, Jiang He mused to himself for a long while before sighing emotionally, "Since the Sky Demon Cult is so weak, I should make time to wipe them out and call it job done…"

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Chapter 239: Dumbo: I'll Teach You How To Act Like a Proper Person!

Yan Dehao: "…"

'You've reduced the Sky Demon Cult to their current miserable state, and you're still not sparing them?'

For some reason, Yan Dehao suddenly felt sympathy for the Sky Demon Cultists.

Perhaps even now, the data about Jiang He in the Sky Demon Cult's files still maintained that he was a rank-seven martial artist…

How did the Sky Demon Cult and Jiang He come to share such a grudge?

None of the Sky Demon Cultists leaders did not want Jiang He dead, just as Jiang He was bent on wiping out the cult. If such mutual loving continued, the Sky Demon Cult would be a goner sooner or later.

After a long silence, Yan Dehao then said, "From my perspective, Mister Jiang, the Sky Demon Cult is no more than a mob of people with shared interest, and even their cardinals are pieces of trash who would give up on their humanity over personal desires. On the other hand, their Saint is different—that person must not be underestimated!"

"Oh?"

Jiang He immediately became interested—he was very curious about the cult leader.

That person counted as a genius. Leaving aside his ability or his motive for founding the Sky Demon Cult, his personal ability was frightening enough… after all, many Sky Demon Cults would be mumbling slogans like 'the Saint will revive me from the River of Time' or 'for the Holy Faith'.

Yan Dehao shook his head and laughed bitterly. "He is too mysterious, and he is shrouded in dark air with the few times I saw him. I've never seen his face, just as the cult did not know whether he is man, woman, or even human."

"Inhuman?"

Jiang He was rather puzzled.

Yan Dehao therefore explained, "The Sky Demons back the Sky Demon Cult, so every cultist with great accomplishments would be permitted to study the Sky Demon Arcanum and cultivate it, even gradually alter their aura and physical constitution. They would be baptized at the Holy Lake once their cultivation reached certain heights, after of which they are no longer humans."

"Almost every cultist seeks to be baptized at the Holy Lake, after which their lifespan and strength would improve greatly, but the most important part was the change of their living form to resemble the Sky Demons. Since the cultists think of the Sky Demons as their Holy Ones, even the average cultist would improve greatly in status after being baptized at the Holy Lake."

"For example, Wu Dong and Annette, the cardinals you killed before have been altered in many aspects, and would not count as real humans."

"Is that so?

"Really?"

Jiang He recalled the two cardinals he killed, shook his head and said, "I killed them too quickly to notice their appearance… oh, what about the Holy Children? I didn't kill that many of them, or talk to them before I did, so I don't know them all that well."

Yan Dehao: "…"

He looked up at Jiang He in surprise.

'Isn't your wording a little… wrong?

'What do you mean, you did not kill that many Holy Children? The Sky Demon Cult only groomed nine of them, one of whom died 2 months ago overseas, and then there was you, who killed the Flowing Cloud Holy Child a while ago, as well as three more today…

'And that is 'not many'?'

Yan Dehao was retorting wildly inside.

Nonetheless, he then explained, "The selection of the holy children is very special. It's said that one thousand average youths born under the right stars would be thrown into the Holy Lake, and the last nine who survived would be chosen as Holy Children and be groomed by their cult."

"That said, the Holy Children could cultivate the Sky Demon Arcanum… of course, it is called the Sky Sage Arcanum within the Sky Demon Cult."

A thousand youths… and nine-hundred and ninety-one of them were killed?

Killing intent flashed in Jiang He's eyes then—the Sky Demon Cult deserves death even more now.

"Last question. Where is the headquarters of the Sky Demon Cult?"

Yan Dehao shook his head and said, "I don't know."

Jiang He frowned in confusion. "You've been with the Sky Demon Cult for years, but you've never been to their headquarters?"

"I've been there all along over the last few years."

"Not many Sky Demon Cultists know where it actually was, but it actually is located in a great canyon surrounded by mountains. Those mountains are in turn surrounded by toxic miasma all year long, and there is no way to approximate the location of their headquarters with the surrounding environment."

"That toxic miasma is extremely frightening. Not even rank-nines last long in there."

"Oh?"

Jiang He appeared thoughtful and smiled. "There aren't that many canyons in the country, are there? Just search them all—that's not difficult for elites, is it? And doesn't it become more obvious, since you said that there is toxic miasma surrounding it?"

"Minister Wang would have searched for it already."

Yan Dehao smiled begrudgingly. "I suspect that the toxic miasma did not form from natural means, but that the Saint had created it artificially to hide the headquarters from prying eyes. Moreover, there must be something keeping the toxic miasma outside the canyon, which is evident because none of the mist wafted inside the canyon even after all these years."

"You can't see your surroundings after entering the canyon?"

Jiang He asked.

One could get a general location from a landscape.

"Indeterminable."

Yan Dehao said with a straight face. "We use a special passage to enter the canyon, which is a little similar to the entrance to the heritage site just now. We enter or leave the canyon instantly by pouring our auras into our token plates at several selected locations.

Jiang He appeared taken aback at that, and only came to his senses after half a beat.

"An array?" He slowly said solemnly, "Or something similar to spatial portals?"

"Eh?"

Yan Dehao appeared rather puzzled.

Array? Spatial portals?

What the heck were those?

Jiang He waved him off, saying, "You haven't read novels about immortals or high fantasy, so it would be normal for you not to know about arrays… If my guess is right, the Sky Demon Cult headquarters is protected by a massive array which projects the toxic miasma. As for Minister Wang's searches… it makes sense that he couldn't find it if the arrays produced an imaginary space that blocks observation."

Yan Dehao appeared confused.

Though the Era of Qi Refinists had indeed existed, no one had discovered historical immortal arts as of yet, which was why it was reasonable that martial artists had not heard about those.

A thought crossed Jiang He's mind then.

After guessing the possibility of an array, many more possibilities now seemed probable. Therefore, he asked, "Grandmaster Yan, is the distance between the different entry points from which you teleport to and from the Sky Demon Cult headquarters not really that far?"

Yan Dehao's eyes lit up after thinking about it, and said, "It really wasn't that far. Although those locations were different, they are no more than 50 kilometers from each other."

"That sounds about right."

Jiang He laughed. "It seems that the array has limited capacity for teleportation, and if my guess is right, the Sky Demon Cult headquarters would be 50 kilometers from the location you teleported."

"No way!"

Yan Dehao exclaimed. "I've teleported from barren plains with no mountains nearby, whereas the Sky Demon Cult headquarters is surrounded by mountains!"

"What if those mountains are mirages conjured by the array?"

Jiang He chuckled, but soon scowled.

"Although the Sky Demon Cult headquarters is protected by an array that sounds quite awesome… could the Saint of the Sky Demon Cult be a cultivator?"

That was very likely!

And even if he was not a cultivator, he is still a traitor who sided with the Sky Demons and might even be one of them himself. Who knows what special moves he cultivated?

"I'm a martial-arts newbie and novice in immortal arts…"

"Fine, now that I've reached divine-tier in martial arts and had cultivated to Golden Pellet, I more or less count as a proper martial artist and a cultivator, but could I win if I'm up against that enigmatic leader of the Sky Demon Cult?"

Arrays…

Arrays…

Either way, he gained much inspiration from it.

Jiang He's eyes slowly lit up.

Is there a cultivator who could not cast arrays?

As a sword cultivator, was sword arrays not necessary?

"Perhaps I could farm in peace for a few days after I get home, improve my abilities and plant a sword array or something before I go looking for the Sky Demon Cult?"

"Damn it!"

"Why hasn't Cheng Dongfeng arrived with Dumbo and Trumbo yet?"

"I would have flown back to get them if I knew!"

Cheng Dongfeng, Duan Tianhe, and the others only arrived at the edge of Mount Dadong when the sun was rising.

Both Duan Tianhe and Cheng Dongfeng were wearing combat suits and carrying alloy weapons with somber looks, and leading over twenty Martial Arts Department personnel.

"Let's climb the mountain together and be wary," Duan Tianhe warned. "Moun Dadong is filled with dangers even without Ferals. Do not let down your guard!"

Dumbo, however, snorted. "Guard, my foot. Mount Dadong is the safest place in the world now that my master is on it. Can't you two fools even understand that?"

Both Duan Tianhe and Cheng Dongfeng did a double take.

That… kind of made sense.

With Jiang He's personality, anyone would be convinced if it was claimed that he had slain every Feral on Mount Dadong.

Cheng Dongfeng inwardly agreed but retorted for the sake of appearance, flatly saying, "You understand not a god damn thing, dog."

He and Dumbo had really been quarreling all the way here.

"Bow-wow-wow!!!"

Dumbo barked violently then, abruptly drawing its sword and brandishing it with its paw, before carving a rift beneath Cheng Dongfeng with Sword Qi in a single swing as it bellowed, "You donkey, who are you belittling?"

"Come, come, fight me if you are as good as you say… don't hold me back, Trumbo, don't you hold me back! I'm teaching this donkey how to act like a proper person today!"

What the hell!

Duan Tianhe rubbed his eyes.

'What the heck am I seeing?

'A dog is actually releasing Sword Qi?'

On the other hand, Cheng Dongfeng was blue with shock.

'Was I hearing things?

'A dog is barking and telling me how to act like a proper person?!'

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Chapter 240: No, I Am Neither Hungry Nor thirsty!

"What the heck!"

After a brief surprise, Cheng Dongfeng went on an outburst as well, and glared at Dumbo with a cold smile. "I won't believe that my luck is so bad that a dog could walk all over me!"

Duan Tianhe promptly held him back, saying, "Old Cheng, let it go, let it go… why stoop to a dog's level?"

Dumbo was certainly not amused, and its eyes turned to Duan Tianhe as it bared its teeth, "What do you mean? Are you belittling me?"

Meow!

With a loud purr, Trumbo rushed up and grabbed Dumbo's legs with its two front paws, before purring a few more times.

It was only that Dumbo sheathe its sword and said, "My master has an important task for us and would get angry if we kept him waiting, or I would have gone a few rounds with you people. Alright, let's go, Trumbo!"

Leaving an afterimage, it dashed deep into Mount Dadong—on its rear legs.

Recently, Dumbo had been copying human behavior in every way, even wearing a pair of baggy Superman shorts. Indeed, the impression it left as it ran along in those pants while carrying its sword was exceedingly profound.

Meanwhile, Trumbo put palm to fist, saluting Duan Tianhe and Cheng Dongfeng and purring a few times, its pit-black eyes swiveling humanly.

???

Duan Tianhe and Cheng Dongfeng traded baffled looks.

What did that mean?

What was that cat trying to convey?

Meow?

Trumbo tilted its head and purred a question with a look of slight disdain then…

Don't you people understand cat?

That being said, while rank-seven Ferals could communicate with human using spirit, Trumbo did not do that.

After some thought, it drew its blade, releasing Blade Qi freely on the ground as he used his blade as a pen and wrote into the dirt, "Don't be offended and stoop to that silly dog's level. Anyway, daddy's off."

Dad…

Daddy?

Watching as Trumbo swiftly left, Cheng Dongfeng scowled and barked, "Damn it, these pets are so annoying! I'll definitely beat them up if I get the chance!"

Beside them, Duan Tianhe came to his senses and quietly asked, "Old Cheng, are you sure you could defeat them?"

Nonetheless, he quickly changed the subject once he saw that Cheng Dongfeng was about to go mad, and said with a straight face, "If I'm not mistaken… are Jiang He's pets rank-seven intermediate-pinnacle?"

"At that level, Ferals certainly would be very intelligent, but not that intelligent, right?"

Human speech could be attributed to the outstanding talent Jiang He's dog had, but what about that Blade Qi and Sword Qi?

Both cat and dog actually learned blade techniques and swordplay, and cultivated it to strong levels… but how did they manage that?

Perhaps Jiang He's beast-taming ability was special, and he could teach the Ferals martial arts?

Fine.

Wasn't it a little too extraordinary even if he could teach Ferals martial arts?

And to such proficiency?

Duan Tianhe had a million questions. The Martial Arts Department (MAD) personnel who followed him were completely stunned as well, appearing astonished by Dumbo and Trumbo's antics.

Someone even whispered, "Rank-seven intermediate-pinnacle? The dog was just rank-three a month ago!"

Everyone promptly turned to the one who said that.

It was Su Ze.

The disciple of Cheng Dongfeng's peer was not as arrogant as he was when he first came to Lingzhou City. His whole being appeared plain now, and even seemed a little scared when everyone turned towards him, his neck shrinking as he said, "I've been to Jiang He's house a few times and become familiar with his dog, and it was definitely rank-three just a month ago."

"Impossible! If it was rank-three a month ago, wouldn't it mean Jiang He's dog improved to rank-seven intermediate-pinnacle in that one month?"

Everyone appeared doubtful, but Cheng Dongfeng laughed coolly. "What could be impossible these days? Alright, keep going!"

The others were not aware that he was even more familiar with Jiang He's pets.

Those beasts had been eating Feral King and Feral Emperor meat every day—how could they not ascend that quickly?

They were also drinking one bottle of rank-nine Origin Fluid at a time, each of which was worth millions per drop… an ant would be fed up to high tiers, let alone a dog.

Cheng Dongfeng's heart was bleeding at that very thought.

Truly, humans were less than dogs here!

At first, Duan Tianhe and Cheng Dongfeng kept a slow pace to walk alongside the other MAD personnel, afraid that they would be attacked by Ferals…

But after walking twenty-five kilometers, they did not come across a single whiff of Ferals, let alone sighting one.

The massive earthquake that the collapse of the heritage site caused had already sent the Ferals living on Mount Dadong scampering.

After realizing that there was no danger at all, both Duan Tianhe and Cheng Dongfeng used their form technique and began to hurry on their way.

They promptly came to a stop after another fifteen kilometers.

A hill split entirely down the middle was just ahead. They crossed it, only to find that the rift that cuts through the entire hill extends deep into Mount Dadong as well, and that it was wider and deeper the further it goes.

Over a dozen of other rifts also branched out of the enormous rift, with untold number of mountains collapsing around it.

Both Duan Tianhe and Cheng Dongfeng appeared even more shocked and somber the more they looked.

How was this different from blowing up Mount Dadong?

Was Mount Dadong not basically gone?

"Old Duan!"

"We should appeal to the higher-ups for a satellite dedicated to monitoring Jiang He… he only blew up Ferals at first, but he almost exploded Mount Dadong now. When he gets stronger, I would believe you if you tell me that he went overseas to wipe out an entire country."

Heh…

Duan Tianhe chuckled feebly.

Monitoring Jiang He?

He was not a criminal, why monitor him?

Moreover, how many things had he accomplished for the Hua Nation in no more than two months?

Everyone knew that Jiang He's cultivation was improving quicker than a rocket, and he must have gained a monumental providence which he never mentioned to others. Even if his original motive was not to protect the country and its people, Jiang He's culling of Ferals and Sky Demon Cultists was an act that definitely contributed to the country.

Of course, no one dared to say anything against that now.

What if Jiang He swung his blade at you if you spoke up? Would you win?

"Moreover, satellite surveillance? Aren't you afraid that Jiang He would blow it up as well in anger?" Duan Tianhe teased.

Meanwhile, he and Cheng Dongfeng quickly reached the rubble that was once the heart of Mount Dadong.

And on the rubble was Jiang He, sitting cross-legged on a wooden stool and having a boxed lunch, while Yan Dehao was digging something nearby with a blade.

The sun had already risen.

Once Jiang He noticed Duan Tianhe and Cheng Dongfeng, he smiled. "You're here, great grandson, Chief Duan?"

"Have you had breakfast yet?"

"I've brought some boxed lunches. Want some?"

Duan Tianhe was about to shake his head and refuse when Cheng Dongfeng's eyes lit up. He seemed to have realized something, striding up beside Jiang He in a single step while laughing, "Grand-master, do you have more? Isn't it boring eating alone? Should I eat with you?"

Jiang He grinned and whipped out a boxed lunch, handing it to Cheng Dongfeng before taking out another and offering it to Duan Tianhe.

Shaking his head, Duan Tianhe smiled. "You can have it, Jiang He. I'm not hungry."

He never had the habit of having breakfast, just as he had not washed his feet or brush his teeth since they came here in a hurry.

"What actually happened here, Jiang He?"

Duan Tianhe asked, and could not resist looking nearby at Yan Dehao, who was digging the ground nearby and exclaiming in surprise, "Who is he?"

"Oh, him? That's Yan Dehao."

Jiang He mumbled while he kept eating. "You might not know him, but you would definitely have heard of him—he's the mole Wang Hou embedded into the Sky Demon Cult."

"What?"

Duan Tianhe looked entirely baffled. "The mole Wang Hou placed at the Sky Demon Cult? Why did he come to Mount Dadong? And… what is he digging?"

"Corpses."

Jiang He threw away the lunchbox he finished then, taking out a mineral water bottle and asking, "Water, Chief Duan?"

"Thanks, but I'm not thirsty. "

Duan Tianhe shook his head, while Cheng Dongfeng's eyes lit up again in excitement, "Grand-master, I'm thirsty…"

Nonchalantly throwing the 'mineral water' to Cheng Dongfeng, Jiang He took out another bottle for himself, opened it to wet his throat before saying, "Didn't Mount Dadong have a heritage site?"

"It seems that the Graywolf King and the Sky Demon Cult had come to an agreement to open it together, and Yan Dehao incidentally came with the cardinal of the Sky Demon Cult… Eh? What's wrong, Chief Duan?"

Even before Jiang He finished, he noticed something wrong with Duan Tianhe's eyes.

Duan Tianhe appeared bewildered right then.

What was that aroma?

It was so sweet…

He smelled it once Jiang He opened the bottle, but Jiang He soon closed the bottle, which was why Duan Tianhe took not much notice, only assuming that Jiang He's mineral water was quite special.

That was when Cheng Dongfeng opened his mineral water bottle too.

The man did not drink it at once after he opened it.

Instead, he held it in front of his nose, and inhaled deeply.

"Ah… so sweet."

He murmured emotionally.

Glug, glug…

After that, Cheng Dongfeng chugged the bottle as if he had never drunk water for several lifetimes, finishing it in a single go… and that was not all, as he released his True Qi to blow out the remaining two drops at the bottom of the bottle, and carefully put it into his mouth.

Duan Tianhe's bewilderment turned to a scowl.

Was that not too embarrassing?

Cheng Dongfeng was more or less his subordinate. Was there a need for him to do all that for a single bottle of mineral water?

Duan Tianhe was especially embarrassed since they were right in front of Jiang He, which was why he smiled awkwardly and said, "Don't mind him, Jiang He. Old Cheng had always been like this—he must have lived through a great drought when he was a kid and is scared of going thirsty, and wouldn't waste even a drop of tap.. water… eh?"

Even before he finished, he was gaping at Cheng Dongfeng and stood up with a swish.

Cheng Dongfeng's body convulsed and his eyes shone in delight. "I've actually ascended in spirit… Grand-master Jiang He, does the Origin Fluid in this bottle improve spirit?"

What the hell!

Duan Tianhe's eyes went red upon realization.

Origin Fluid?

And one that strengthened spirit?

He slapped himself in the face with a loud smack, almost bursting into tears…

'Me and my big mouth! I actually refused when Jiang He offered me a whole bottle!!!

'That being said…

'Are you really that inhuman, Jiang He?

'Carrying Origin Fluid around in mineral bottles?

'Even asking people anyone you meet if they are thirsty… do you take that treasure for tap water?'

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Chapter 241: Having Never Suffered Society's Lashing

"Why are you hitting yourself, Chief Duan?"

Jiang He could not help asking when he saw Duan Tianhe slap his own face red. In return, Duan Tianhe forced a smile that was uglier than a crying face, took a deep breath and said, "I'm fine, just killing a mosquito. By the way, Jiang He… you just said that Yan Dehao came with the cardinals of the Sky Demon Cult?"

Jiang He nodded.

Still…

Mosquito?

He really took notice, but why bother when they could not break his skin no matter how strong they were?

Meanwhile, Duan Tianhe appeared stunned and said, "The cardinal of the Sky Demon Cult has to be divine-tier, and would not be weak in ability…"

Jiang He shook his head and said, "Divine-tier is not bad, but as for ability… I killed them too quickly. I killed one with a single palm and then the other with a sword. They did not really resist, and I'm not too sure what their specific ability was."

Duan Tianhe: "…"

Cheng Dongfeng: "So delicious!"

At the moment, Cheng Dongfeng was having mouthfuls of his lunchbox, and could not help showering praise after just a taste of the stir-fried black wood-ear over meat. "Grand-master Jiang He, where did you buy this black wood-ear from? It tastes really good—can I have a taste? I'm getting a few catties after I get back."

"That's mutated black wood-ear. It strengthens physiques after consumption, so it probably counts as a rank-seven floral spirit—you can't buy it from Lingzhou City."

???

Cheng Dongfeng did a double take, and then…

Found the lunchbox even tastier.

He wolfed it down, finishing the lunchbox in its entirety within ten seconds, even stretching his tongue to lick the spot where the dish had been to avoid wasting the juices of the vegetables.

After stretching his senses over his body for a while, he exclaimed in surprise, "It really strengthens physique—I've never cultivated body refinement techniques, and my physique is probably rank-five even though I am rank-eight now. I certainly did not expect that a boxed lunch could push my physique up to rank-six."

Meanwhile, Duan Tianhe, who had been left stunned by the words 'killed them too quickly' and 'did not really resist' shuddered, his entire being going numb.

Mutated black wood-ear?

Rank-seven floral spirit?

And the type that strengthened physique…

What great providence had he missed out on by just saying 'I'm not hungry' and 'I'm not thirsty'?

Suddenly, the ground started shaking.

Cheng Dongfeng, who just finished his lunchbox exclaimed in surprise, "Aftershock?"

"Aftershock, my food."

Jiang He looked speechless. "I've told you—it's not an earthquake, just a heritage site collapsing… the two of you are a rank-seven and a rank-eight martial arts grandmaster in your own right, so can't you at least act the part? Like a bunch of somethings making a ruckus."

However, the ground shook even more violently at that.

The soil thirty meters away from Jiang He churned and parted, with Dumbo climbing out in its big trousers to stand on its rear legs before throwing a corpse it had been holding on the ground, saying, "Found it, master. There are over a dozen more corpses down there nearby too… Huh? Those two donkeys are here too?"

Naturally, he was referring to Duan Tianhe and Cheng Dongfeng with that last part.

With that, the dog dug itself back into the ground with a pop, just before Trumbo climbed out several seconds later, threw off two more corpses before climbing back in.

Duan Tianhe's eyes tightened, quietly saying, "Earth-type powers?"

He shook his head just as he finished, murmuring in disbelief, "No way. Cats and dogs are the most average of animals and would only become average Ferals even after evolving into Ferals, with little chance of awakening superpowers. And they wouldn't have awakened Earth-type powers even if they could, right?"

After all, there was a logic behind how humans awaken their superpowers.

Take Wang Sizhen, for instance…

He was a project supervisor familiar with construction work, which was why he had awakened a rubber mallet—likewise, the old blacksmith at Lingzhou City's Martial Arts Department (MAD) awakened a hammer specifically for metalwork because of his profession as well.

Zhou Rui, being an athlete in fencing, awakened Royal Sword.

The Fourth Elder whom Jiang He killed was once a magician, which was why he awakened abilities concerned with magic tricks, gaining the ability to conjure poker cards.

As for Wang Siyu… She awakened mind-reading abilities after failing her exam, perhaps because she wanted to use that power to cheat.

And that was the same for Ferals.

Only animals such as rodents and pangolins would awaken earth-type abilities.

In turn, marine lifeforms would easily awaken water-type abilities, while wolves and avian that became Ferals could gain wind-type abilities.

Nonetheless, Jiang He shook his head in disagreement towards Duan Tianhe's analysis, mentioning an example to argue his case, "There are no absolutes. Take Li Fei for example, who is the owner of a breeder's union but awakened superstrength—if we followed your reasoning, shouldn't he have awakened beast-taming abilities?"

"And then there is Yang Chengwu… he favors blade techniques, and yet he awakens superstrength as well."

Cheng Dongfeng mused then, "Actually, I think Old Duan has a point. A few days ago, an English teacher in Lingzhou City awakened powers that had to do with his profession… that materializes a blackboard duster. If your name was called and you answered, it would hit you squarely in the head with pinpoint precision within 100 meters."

Jiang He was taken aback.

That teacher…

Was awesome!

He must have thrown a lot of dusters during his lessons, did he not?

Was that power not a little outrageous? A materialized object actually had auto-targeting ability?

Seemingly able to tell what Jiang He was thinking just then, Cheng Dongfeng chuckled. "Actually, that power is pretty much chickenfeed. The class of the teacher's power is very, very weak and barely counts as D-class—it works against a normal human, but any martial artist with some competence would be able to catch or knock it out of the air."

"Hah!"

Jiang He laughed in return. "Superpowers must be applied correctly to maximize its utility. Even if that ability clearly was not meant for fighting, you could suggest the idea to Wu Yueru so that she recruits that Awakened to teach at the Martial Arts Academy (MAA) to teach the students about basic martial arts. I assure you, no student would be up to mischief during lessons."

"That Awakened is fated to teach for life, it seems!" Jiang He could not help joking then.

Suddenly, Yan Dehao, who had been digging away while they conversed started to laugh out loud.

He climbed under the hole he had dug himself, and soon pulled out a rank-eight Feral corpse.

"What's going on?"

Cheng Dongfeng turned to Jiang He, who smiled. "I killed over twenty high-ranked Ferals in passing just now, but their corpses all ended up buried beneath the ground. But since my pets don't want it because their meat isn't nutritious, I'm not bothered to dig them out."

Hence, without another word, Cheng Dongfeng ran off to start digging alongside Yan Dehao.

On the other hand, Duan Tianhe refrained from suffering the embarrassment, but as Duan Tianhe dug out a rank-nine Feral corpse from beneath the ground while laughing maniacally, he clenched his teeth, rolled up his teeth and ran there to start digging as well.

He had missed two huge chances today, and he was not about to let it slip a third time!

After all…

The corpses of high-ranked Ferals were very valuable!

Even the corpse of a rank-seven Feral was priced at ten million at minimum, while rank-eight Feral corpses were worth around thirty million. Rank-nine Feral corpses were worth twice the price of rank-eight Feral corpses, and even stronger ones could sell for a hundred million.

Simply digging a few corpses meant weapons and combat suits could be upgraded to pure S-grade alloys, as well as having some spare change to purchase cultivation resources.

All at once, dust kicked up from the rubble as Yan Dehao, Duan Tianhe and Cheng Dongfeng somehow clicked together immediately and started digging in tandem. By the time the other MAD personnel arrived, the twenty or so Feral corpses and all the Sky Demon Cultists' corpses were dug out.

After Jiang He put away the cultists' corpses and released a gust of True Qi to levitate Dumbo and Trumbo, he said goodbye to Cheng Dongfeng and the others before flying away from Mount Dadong.

Up in the air.

Flying for the first time, Dumbo and Trumbo were barking and purring relentlessly in excitement.

"Shut up!'

Having had enough, Jiang He yelled in irritation before saying, "I've got my hands on a daemonic cultivation method, and I'll get someone to translate after we get back. You two would quickly reach divine-tier with that cultivation, and fly by yourself when the time comes."

"Thank you, master!"

Delighted, both Dumbo and Trumbo quickly thanked him.

However, Jiang He seemed a little pale and tired…

"I've used much of my spirit after releasing Twenty-Three Swords. I need to seize the moment to get home and sleep, and start farming after I wake up… by the way, does Wang Hou actually want to give me that 100 Orirocks and Sword-Will Barrenwort he promised me?"

Jiang He laughed coolly even as the thought crossed his mind.

Would he dare to renege on his promise?

Perhaps he had not suffered the lashing of society!

"A-choo!"

At the MAD of Jingdu City, Wang Hou sneezed for some reason and could not help barking, "Which fool is cursing me behind my back? Why do I have this persistent urge to sneeze?"

"By the way, Old Zhou. Could you reach Jiang He yet?"

Zhou Yu shook his head.

After none of his calls before reached Jiang He, he had forgotten about the matter entirely come morning. Moreover, Duan Tianhe had also forgotten to contact his superiors after suffering much shock since reaching Mount Dadong.

Nonetheless, Zhou Yu replied, "Don't worry, Minister Wang—Jiang He must have turned off his phone when he went to sleep… how about this? Didn't you promise Jiang He 100 Orirocks and a tuft of Sword-Will Barrenwort?"

"Should I bring it to him today?"

"Alright."

Wang Hou said. "Rearrange your work schedule so that you could bring that stuff to the kid as soon as possible. I must prepare for the talks with the Dragoncroc Emperor in a few days."

Haha!

Zhou Yu kept a straight face as he laughed and retorted inwardly.

Prepare?

Wouldn't you just be sleeping over the next few days?

How could Zhou Yu not understand Wang Hou's personality after being his deputy over eight years? Whenever Minister Wang goes idling, he could not wait to sleep for twenty-four hours.

"There's a conference in the afternoon—you should oversee it."

After having a drink of the thick tea in the Thermos cup, Wang Hou got up and yawned. "Have a good talk with Jiang He after meeting him. The kid is open to coaxing but not coercion, so get a good word in and prevent him from starting trouble before my negotiations with the Dragoncroc Emperor is finished. Otherwise, even if the beast was unwilling to go to war, it might cause some problems to save face."

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Chapter 242: Creating a Sword Array

That being said, Wang Hou was not being lazy.

Over the last few years, he had been running around to work. Rest and sleep were a luxury for him, and he often went without sleeping over months, or even a year.

That continued until Wang Hou ascended to Void-tier.

Once he ascended, he negotiated with the Ferals and reached an agreement that those above rank-nine were not to attack on a whim, as well as reaching a partnership with the Five Holy Grounds.

Only then did the state of the Hua Nation stabilized.

Though Jiang He's string of rampages left the many Feral Kings on edge, leaving a chance of unrest erupting everywhere, his swift slaying of the Black King Drake, the Red Toad King, the Violet-Crowned Golden Eagle, the Golden-Crowned Black Eagle, and the Golden Winged-Roc had greatly reduced the Ferals' forces. As such, the country would have enough strength to face any unrest.

Moreover…

The Dragoncroc Emperor itself indicated its reluctance to fight.

That was why Wang Hou felt even more relaxed.

And one he became relaxed, he desired sleep.

After delegating the various affairs at the MAD, Wang Hou stood up and headed for the bedroom adjacent to his office, even instructing Zhou Yu, "Just say I'm not here if any one comes looking for me, Old Zhou… you can make the decisions on the more trivial matters as well, so don't disturb my sleep."

Once Wang Hou reached his small bedroom, he reached dreamland after lying on bed for a couple minutes.

It was a pity that Jiang He was not a witness to that scene, or an 'insomniac' person like him would become a green-eyed monster.

Nonetheless, after a murky sleep of less than half an hour…

Bang!

A dull crash could be heard, jolting Wang Hou awake from his sweet dreams.

Zhou Yu had knocked open the office door as he rushed in, dashing outside Wang Hou's bedroom and slapping on it loudly as he shouted, "Oh no, Minister Wang! Word from Lingzhou City's MAD is that… Mount Dadong is gone!"

Muddleheaded from sleep, Wang Hou felt a jolt and question marks popping up all over his head.

"What was that? Mount Dadong is gone?"

Wang Hou could not understand it just then.

Mount Dadong stretched on for over a hundred kilometers. How could it be gone?

Realizing that he misspoke, Zhou Yu took a deep breath to compose himself and quickly changed phrasing, saying, "The report from the Lingzhou City MAD might have been a little exaggerated. The specific situation is that the heritage site within Mount Dadong collapsed, causing a massive earthquake—with the heart of Mount Dadong being the epicenter, everything over twenty kilometers from it are reduced to rubble, and most of Mount Dadong are split cracks that stretches on for fifty kilometers, causing serious devastation to the ecosystem."

That being said, with Mount Dadong having become a lair of Ferals, there was nothing to care about destroyed ecosystems.

Still, with something like this having happened, the Ferals living there would definitely migrate away, which was likely to cause Feral unrest.

Wang Hou frowned. "The garrison and military elite guarding Yuzhen only withdrew yesterday, and Mount Dadong is gone already? As for the heritage site… it wasn't even opened. Why would it crumble?"

Zhou Yu appeared baffled at that, and replied, "It seems that Yan Dehao had a hand in this."

"Eh?"

Wang Hou couldn't help laughing out loud at that. "How could I not know what Yan Dehao is capable of? If he had the power to bring down an entire heritage site, I would be reluctant to send him out as an undercover agent."

"I think so too."

Zhou Yu smiled begrudgingly. "Perhaps he was made a scapegoat."

"Tell me then," Wang Hou said. "What actually happened?"

"Didn't Zhou Yu run into Yan Dehao last night?" Zhou Yu replied.

"I managed to contact him through Lingzhou City, and in his debrief, he said that he had gained the Sky Demon Cult's trust and was promoted to Fourth Elder, and arrived at Mount Dadong with their two Cardinals, the Sentinel of the Left, another Elder, three Holy Children, along with several Decans. They were about to open the heritage site alongside the Graywolf King when Jiang He suddenly came charging in, killing all the cultists and forced the Graywolf King to open the heritage site."

"And according to Yan Dehao, the heritage site itself is a daemonic legacy. The Graywolf King hugely benefited from it and took a great leap forward in power, but still ended up being killed by Jiang He."

Wang Hou, having kept his eyes fixed on Zhou Yu, asked, "So, you mean that Jiang He was the one who brought down the Mount Dadong heritage site… Hold on…"

He abruptly came to a realization even before he finished, and exclaimed in surprise, "Jiang He killed two Sky Demon Cult Cardinals, the Sentinel of the Left, another Elder, three Holy Children, along with several Decans… and killed the Graywolf King too?!"

Damn it!

Wang Hou held his forehead, unsure what to say just then.

Truly, whatever he feared always come to be.

The Dragoncroc Emperor had made it clear that it would not fight. In turn, that meant humans elites above rank-nine—especially Jiang He—were also to refrain from slaying Feral Kings. Wang Hou certainly did not expect that Jiang He had killed another when he was not looking.

Could he be the terminator of Ferals?

After half a beat, Wang Hou rubbed his temples and forced a chuckle, saying, "Forget it. The Graywolf King is dead either way, and the Dragoncroc Emperor took no offense after Jiang He had slain four Feral Kings and one Feral Emperor. It probably wouldn't say anything against the Graywolf King's killing."

"That said, I'm worried about the Sky Demon Cult right now, and not the Dragoncroc Emperor… with Jiang He killing two Cardinals this time, wiping out their Sentinels and almost all of their nine elders, the Saint of the Sky Demon Cult is going to lose their mind."

"Whatever, worrying about it is useless. We'll repel any army that come and bury any floodwater with soil—if the Saint really dared to come forth, I shall summon every elite in the country to fight him!"

The only problem, however, was that the talks with the Dragoncroc Emperor would be brought forward.

Otherwise, if the matter regarding the Graywolf King was allowed to continue brewing while all the Feral Kings felt unsafe. Should the Sky Demon Cult's leader come out to start trouble, they would be ill-prepared and major problems would ensue.

After musing to himself for a while, Wang Hou's tone changed and asked, "If that's the case, does that mean Jiang He brought down the Mount Dadong heritage site?"

Zhou Yu forced a smile. "That's not exactly it… according to Yan Dehao, the heritage site crumbled once he stamped his feet. Perhaps the heritage site was unstable in the first place, or it was set to collapse on its own due to certain setups if someone took away the legacies within."

Wang Hou waved him off. "Well, leave it then. Contact Yan Dehao and tell him to get back right away—I have questions for him. And send Jiang He's Orirocks and Sword Will Barrenwort to him as soon as possible."

Wang Hou stormed back inside his bedroom.

This time, however, he couldn't sleep no matter how much he tried.

Sleep, my foot!

There was a whole load of work waiting for him to settle with Jiang He's antics this time.

Meanwhile, Jiang He was snoozing away.

Once he returned home, he went up to the third floor to bathe, after which he returned to the bedroom, falling asleep in a matter of minutes.

And then…

He slept all the way past six.

He felt invigorated once he woke up, and stretched his body lazily while exclaiming in delight, "Twenty-Three Swords is really a divine technique. Not only does it destroy my opponents' consciousness and even essence, it helps me sleep after I've used it. I should use it to cut someone down if I'm having trouble sleeping in the future, so that I would get enough quality sleep."

Fortunately, no one was around to hear that, or they would feel the impulse to kill Jiang He right then.

Twenty-Three Swords required a part of person's spirit to charge, thereby hurting it after usage.

Normal people would not recover the spiritual recoil after using it even if they slept for ten days or half a month, and there might even be lasting damage in their spirit.

On the other hand, Jiang He was basically using it as sleeping pills.

As he went downstairs, he saw that Sora had already prepared an aromatic dinner.

Three dishes and one soup—as scrumptious as it was… nutritious.

After all, how could it not be nutritious?

Jiang He planted his own vegetables, and even his eggplants—which were the most ordinary of the lot—possesses wondrous effects and was even more impressive than floral spirits. Therefore, his three dishes and one soup were worth at least a hundred million dollars, and not even the richest person in the world could afford it.

After all, the soup was a broth brewed from the Golden-Winged Roc's bones, and the qi it contained was as thick as it was concentrated.

Nonetheless, the only thing lacking was how plain the rice was.

"It seems that the plan to plant rice and wheat should be brought forward.'

Jiang He sighed emotionally at the table.

Meanwhile, outside the door of the mansion, Dumbo and Trumbo were holding their steel bowls and staring tearfully at the dinner table, their tongues stretched out lengthily while drool dripped out.

Jiang He was speechless.

Dumbo was a dog and that reaction was only natural… but Trumbo was a damned cat. Forget imitating dogs and wagging its tail, it now learnt to stick out its tongue too?

Nonetheless, Sora stood up, scooped two servings of rice, dishes and soup which she poured into the pets' steel bowls.

Wagging their tails and picking up spoons, cat and dog sat by the doorway and cheerfully had their dinner.

The Seven Bottle Gourd Brothers ran up to Jiang He as well. However, they were no fans of rice but favor nitrogen fertilizers and composite fertilizers, so Jiang He offhandedly redeemed 100 of the latter and threw it to them.

Each composite fertilizer was worth 300 Farm Points, and 100 was just 30,000, which was no big deal for Jiang He as he was now.

"Thank you, gramps!"

With that, the Seven Bottle Gourd Brothers turned around and sped off.

After finishing diner, Jiang He searched through every drawer and cabinet in the house to find seeds for rice and wheat… but found none.

"I remember buying rice and wheat seeds before…"

Jiang He rubbed his temples. Had he actually bought them or not?

Hmmm…

He had a lot of things to deal with lately and had forgotten about it.

Either way, he could not find them in his house.

"Still, that's fine. It would best if I could get my hands on some mutated seeds instead, and since rice is in season, there might be rice planted in the countless paddy fields at the wildlands across the country affected by Yuan Qi, causing them to mutate."

Yuan Qi…

It's Jiang He's name for it, just as it was for the people from the Five Holy Grounds. Indeed, it might be the same for the people of the Old Martial Era and the Era of Qi Refinists.

On the other hand, Jiang He found the name 'Universal Force' which those specialists and professors gave rather uncomfortable.

"I'll have the MAD help me collect the seeds for rice and wheat, since I'm not in a hurry and could wait those few days."

Jiang He's farm EXP was long since full, and he had the ascension materials for his farm as well. All he had to wait was for the 100 Orirocks Wang Hou had promised him to arrive, and he could level up his farm right away after earning some Farm Points.

"There is a lot of stuff to plant after the farm levels up, and since I'm idling anyway, I could prepare ahead of time."

Jiang He thought about it, ready to develop a Sword array.

As a sword cultivator, how could he greet others without an impressive set of Sword Array?

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Chapter 243: Sky Daemon Invincibility

"Sword Array…"

Jiang He thought about it for a long time but could not make headways, and was forced to sigh emotionally. "Creating a Sword Array is really too difficult and an utter waste of brain cells!"

"Immortal Penance Sword Array?"

"That sword array could only be laid out with the Four Immortal Swords of Penance and is only the level of Sages, and I would definitely not plant it with my current farm level."

Nonetheless, there was a sudden flash of inspiration in Jiang He's head. As if he had caught something, he quickly found some pen and paper, although he did not know how to start after lifting the pen.

"Whatever."

"Creating things like cultivating method, martial techniques, and Sword Arrays is no different from an essay. It takes a spark of inspiration and must not be rushed."

As such, Jiang He had to put away his stationery.

He walked into his farm, taking out the many corpses in his System Backpack with a wave of his hand.

Both Dumbo and Trumbo started to dig with their earth-type powers without needing Jiang He to say a word. Yellow halation shone over their bodies, and the soil of the empty ground at the corner of the farm churned, soon forming one grave after another.

"Right, there's the Graywolf King too."

Jiang He took out the Feral King's corpses at that.

Swish!

The Cloudscraper Vine immediately extended a tendril towards the Graywolf King, but Jiang He knocked it away with a wave of his hand, chuckling. "You can't eat this corpse. I promised the Graywolf King to let it rest in peace."

Yup.

Planting its corpse count as that, did it not?

As for whether something grows out…

I've already buried you, so what could I do if you grew out on your own?

Meanwhile, the Cloudscraper Vine had withdrawn, its nine 200-meters tendrils shrinking into a ball and appearing rather aggrieved.

Jiang He could not resist a chuckle and scolded. "You're a plant, and yet you're throwing a tantrum? I might have stopped you from eating the Graywolf King, but that doesn't mean I'm not feeding you."

Whipping out the corpse of the Violet-Crowned Golden Eagle and chopping it in half with a wave of his hand, Jiang He threw it to the Cloudscraper Vine.

Delighted, the Cloudscraper Vine caught the corpse with a single tug, leaving only a pile of bones and feathers after around ten minutes.

Jiang He was about to scold it again but swallow his words just then. Carefully giving it a few glances, he then murmured in delight, "Are you… evolving?"

After all, the Cloudscraper Vine was a special plant.

Right now, each of its tendrils was almost 200 meters and frighteningly tough, and even peak rank-nine elites would have a hard time destroying them. Moreover, the numerous spikes on its branches and leaves would easily pierce through S-grade alloy combat suits.

Jiang He estimated that at the moment, not even rank-nine martial artists with full grasp of the Boundary of Wills could defeat the Cloudscraper Vine now.

If it evolved…

It would reach divine-tier.

Nearby, the willow tree extended one of its branches and rubbed itself intimately over Jiang He's body, its thoughts communicated through spirit as it conveyed envy towards the Cloudscraper Vine.

Jiang He grasped one of the branches that was rubbing away on his body and stroke it a few times, only for the branch to shudder, its crystalline green leaves turning faintly red just like a young lady's cheeks.

"Yo?"

"Getting shy?"

Jiang He was unable to stop himself from laughing. "It's fine for you to keep rubbing me, but you're shying away when I touch you?"

"Kyaa!

"Master, you're so naughty~"

The willow branch shuddered and flushed even redder then, its crisp loli voice echoing in Jiang He's voice with the feeling that it was playing up its adorableness.

"Hehehehe. You've not seen how naughtier I could be—anyway, let's try having you cultivating the daemon cultivation method I recently found. Who knows, you might be able to transform if you could, and I'll do naughty stuff with you then."

Jiang He teased, and suddenly felt…

A mysterious feeling of outrageousness.

Him, teasing a willow tree?

Dumbo came to him then, exclaiming in delight, "Master, I want to transform too! Master, to transform too…"

Trumbo also raised its blade to write on the ground, "Master, I want to transform too!"

Jiang He turned towards Trumbo with a look of utter shock. "You… can write?"

What the heck?

Was that self-taught?

There was even elegance to the writing even though it was carved out with Sword Qi, and it did not dull in comparison to the calligraphers on tv or the internet.

That said, Trumbo had never written anything before. Could it have learnt it after ascending up to rank-seven? But the most important question here was that it had always been mingling with the silly canine that was Dumbo every single day, who could only count up to 50—and yet it could learn to write?

"Could it be from eating the grave grass?"

"Perhaps there was a calligrapher amongst the Sky Demon Cultists I've killed?"

Jiang He thought then, and asked, "Who taught you to write?"

Trumbo tilted its head in thought, purring once before raising its blade to write, "I learned it after eating a fruit on one of the graves. Just now, I wrote in the Song script, but I could also write in regular script, cursive script, official script, seal script, semi-cursive script, oracle bone inscriptions, Tadpole script…"

Jiang He blinked. He knew regular script, cursive script, semi-cursive script, and even oracle bone inscriptions since he had learned calligraphy himself, but…

What on earth was the Tadpole script?

Were the Sky Demon Cultists really that multi-talented? Or perhaps some Fiend or Decan had been a calligrapher, and after their grave… grew, that aspect of theirs was strengthened?

"No. You are already rank-seven and could use Spirit Acoustics. Why aren't you communicating with me using that?"

This doggone thing was clearly trying to show off its calligraphy skills, was it not?

Hence, Jiang He caught Trumbo by the neck.

The little buster has been eating too well lately and getting well-rounded, to the point that its neck was as thick as its body.

Once cats become rounded from eating too much, their legs would appear quite short—which was the case for Trumbo, even as it flailed its legs wildly in the air and quickly used Spirit Acoustics to communicate in a cutesy tone, "It's my fault, master! I won't show off again!"

Just as he thought…

This thing wanted to flaunt.

Irritated but amused, Jiang He nonchalantly threw Trumbo on the ground as a thought came to mind.

Tadpole script?

Incidentally, each letter of the ancient script in the jade scroll that he found from the Graywolf King's corpse looked no different from tadpoles. Could that be it?

If that was the case, could he not simply pass the scroll to Trumbo, get the cat to translate the text and then give it to Dumbo?

Taking out the jade scroll and handing it to Trumbo, Jiang He then asked, "Do you know the words here?"

Trumbo stood on its rear legs, accepted the jade scroll with its two stumpy front paws and slowly spread it. Purring, it then raised its blade to write on the ground.

"Master…"

That was when the fur on Trumbo's nape bristled. Sensing Jiang He's keenness to hand it a beating, it promptly switched to Spirit Acoustics and said, "Master, this is tadpole script—otherwise known as tadpole font and tadpole letters. It only got its name in the Han Dynasty, even though it is an ancient script dating from the early Qin Dynasty, making it prehistoric."

"And look, master: that letter means 'Sky', that means 'Daemon', and the long one means 'Invincibility'…"

Trumbo's eyes suddenly lit up at that and it exclaimed in delight, "Sky Daemon Invincibility? Master, is this a daemonic cultivation method?"

"That's right."

Jiang He nodded and said, "This cultivation manual…"

Whoosh!

Even before he could finish his sentence, Trumbo's figure turned into a blur as it dashed out of the farm, clutching the jade scroll…

Still, it soon returned.

It had found pen and paper, looking high and mighty as it put a foot on Dumbo's head, trilling several times as it did.

Furious, Dumbo raised its paw. "How dare you push big daddy around! Would you believe me if I said I would slap your brains out?"

Trumbo remained fearless, however, even protruding its head and purring in provocation.

"You won't translate Sky Daemon Invincibility if I dared to hit you?"

Dumbo did a double take, and promptly turned fury to laughter. It then darted away, bringing out a table and a chair in seconds.

It even brought along a pair of reading glasses without lenses it picked up somewhere.

Acting the part, Trumbo put on the glasses and leapt up on the chair as it began to translate Sky Daemon Invincibility.

Though entertained, Jiang He walked up and kicked off Trumbo, cursing, "Get somewhere else to translate it. I'm feeling inspired enough to create a Sword Array!"

After all, Jiang He had suddenly remembered a sword cultivator he had read before, which protagonist had an awesomesauce Sword Array.

Kicking off Trumbo, Jiang He sat on the chair.

He took out pen and paper, ready to create a Sword Array when he froze…

What was the name of the Sword Array in that novel again?

It was too long, and he forgot.

"Whatever, having the general idea is enough. It's not like the contents of a novel could be taken seriously anyway, since when it comes to creating cultivation methods, 'creating' is the most important part!"

"And Sword Array is more or less the same as cultivation manuals."

Jiang He mused to himself for a moment before writing down 'Sword Array of Ice and Fire Duality'… just before all sorts of ideas poured forth like mushrooms after rain.

"Just as I thought! This is like writing an essay, and thinking alone would not develop good writing. Inspiration only bursts forth when I put pen to paper!"

And since he was creating a Sword Array, he naturally had to make it sound a little cooler.

Therefore, what good was Sword Array of Ice and Fire Duality?

"Hmmm…. I'll assume that the Sword Array I create has nine different folds, and Sword Array of Ice and Fire Duality would be the first fold."

Jiang He had wanted to write one to nine in the first place, but how was a single sword supposed to be unleashed as a Sword Array?

That was why he named the first fold of the Sword Array as the Ice and Fire Duality Sword Array, and then go on from there.

"Second Fold…

"Let's call it Sword Array of Yin-Yang and Three Realms."

The third would be the Sword Array of Four Harmonies and Universality.

As for the fourth…

"…"

Jiang He did a double-take.

What the heck.

Writer's block?

Just after the third fold of the Sword Array?

"It's not really a writer's block, since the problem here is that I can't think of a good name for five… Sword Array of Five Elements? No way, that's too plain, too normal!"

After thinking for a long while, Jiang He decided to fuse five and six."

"So, the fourth fold of the Sword Array shall be named the Sword Array of Five Elements and Six Pulses. Just putting the 'Six Pulses' in front of the widely used Sword Array of Five Elements feels like it is next level cooler!"

Thanks to the idea of fusing five and six, the fifth fold of the Sword Array became simpler.

He would keep fusing, and therefore came up with the Sword Array of Seven Stars and Eight Trigrams.

Sixth fold, Sword Array of Nine Skies Thunderflame.

Seventh Fold, Sword Array of Ten Realms and Infinity.

As for the eight fold…

"Eh…."

"My Sword Array naming has already reached ten, and it would reach eleven and twelve if I kept going. Forget it, I'll just develop the Sword Array up to the seventh fold."

Jiang He carefully read the Sword Array he created twice…

And found it perfect!

But after polishing it as well as adding some sound and visual effects, Jiang He became bothered again.

Each of the Sword Array folds had been named, so what should its overall name be?

After thinking for half a day and passing up on a dozen names, Jiang He chuckled feebly and sighed. "Creating a Sword Array is really too difficult. Other aspects notwithstanding, the naming alone was already an early trial."

"Fine, I'll just call it the Nameless Sword Array. Easy to remember, and most importantly it has a vague mystery to it."

That was when Jiang He's phone rang.

It was Zhou Yu, and he appeared very respectful, even greeting Jiang He before saying, "Mister Jiang, are you at home right now? I'm under orders from Minister Wang to deliver you your Orirocks and Sword-Will Barrenwort. Would you want me to deliver it to you right away, or…"

Jiang He's eyes lit up then and he laughed out loud. "Perfect timing, Deputy Zhou. I'm home right now, so please deliver me the Orirocks right away. Please hurry!"

Right now, it was already nine o'clock at night.

The Martial Arts Department of Lingzhou City.

Zhou Yu was rather surprised, having just arrived in town…

Was there a need to rush?

Nonetheless, there must be no delay since Jiang He said that it must be delivered right away.

"Chief Duan, Grandmaster Ji, Grandmaster Cheng. I'm off to make a delivery to Jiang He, and we'll talk when I get back."

Zhou Yu gave the others a fist-palm salute and was about to move, when Cheng Dongfeng leapt forward and spoke with a straight face, "Deputy Zhou, you had not the time to rest since you rushed all the way here. How could we let you go on an errand?"

"Just leave those stuff for me, I'll deliver it… by the way, Chief Duan, bring Deputy Zhou to that newly opened Feral buffet restaurant. Order the best, my treat!"

He took the one-meter-tall metal box out of Zhou Yu's hands and the sandalwood box which held the Sword-Will Barrenwort, turned around, and used his form technique to dash rapidly away.

Zhou Yu was left gaping, unable to respond for a while.

"That Old Cheng… did he have a dramatic change of personality?" He asked in surprise. "He never treated me to dinner—why is he so generous today?"

Ji Dongxu shook his head, looking utterly baffled.

After all, the money-grubbing Cheng Dongfeng only ascended to rank-eight two days ago. When everyone celebrated for him, he only treated them to one smoked chicken and several bowls of spicy soup. Why would he go on an errand in Zhou Yu's stead, even treating everyone to a meal at the Feral restaurant—which menu cost upwards of several hundred thousand bucks with any meal?

Only Duan Tianhe was upset, beating his chest and stamping his feet!

All my hate!

Truly, Cheng Dongfeng deserves to get rich!

Delivering stuff to Jiang He's house in the middle of the night… and get rewarded with a bottle of Origin Fluid if Jiang He were in a good mood…

He had reacted for a split second slower.

Even in the instant he thought of that, Cheng Dongfeng had already taken action!

Report chapter

Chapter 244: Farm Level Up

"Grand-master Jiang He!"

At ten in the evening, a resounding voice pierced the nighttime silence of Jinyintan Village.

Stepping out of his farm, Jiang He turned towards the gates, unexpectedly finding Cheng Dongfeng and exclaiming in surprise, "What's wrong, great-grandson?'

After all, Cheng Dongfeng was panting heavily right then and sweating buckets—even his True Qi and physique was raging.

He handed Jiang He the metal chest and sandalwood box, smiling. "Grand-master, I heard you were in urgent need for Orirocks and Sword Will Barrenwort, yes? I was afraid that old chap Zhou Yu might slow down your work, which is why I brought the stuff there."

Jiang He took the metal chest and sandalwood box, using his spirit to confirm that there were no mistakes. Then, he frowned and said, "It was just minutes since I spoke with Zhou Yu on the phone, and it's over fifteen kilometers from Lingzhou City here… Did you fly here?"

"No…"

Cheng Dongfeng replied. "I ran here."

That was indeed what he had done—Jiang He could even guess that he was pushing himself to his limit.

Shaking his head, Jiang He sighed. "Grandson, you are still a little weak physically. A rank-eight martial artist without a girlfriend, ending up like that after running just around fifteen kilometers? You have to know that at rank-six, I could run at top speed for over a dozen hours without problems."

"Your teaching rings true, grand-master."

Wiping his sweat and subtly studying Jiang He with the corner of his eye, he seemingly muttered under his breath to himself. "So thirsty, feels like my lungs would blow up!"

Naturally, Jiang He's hearing caught it.

In that very instant… he understood.

This dog was here for his Origin Fluid!

Jiang He had plenty of Origin Fluid, and even if he finished his stock, he just had to climb Mount Helan and ask the willow tree for some to plant. In fact, he could nonchalantly hand out Origin Fluid like mineral water, but…

This grandson of his was actually scheming against him?

Nonetheless, Jiang He quickly said, "Grandson, why are you still standing out here? You did come all the way here to bring me my stuff, hurry up, come in…"

"That's not necessary, grandmaster. There's still a truckload of work back at the Martial Arts Department (MAD)!"

"No way! Well, I could get you something to drink before you go back."

Cheng Dongfeng was delighted.

He was truly a crafty devil!

Getting a bottle of Origin Fluid after going on an errand was disproportionately rewarding. As for treating Zhou Yu and the others to a meal?

Paltry matter.

The food ingredients of the Feral restaurant might be expensive, but would it not just be a few hundred thousand bucks? A single drop of rank-nine Origin Fluid made up for it!

Soon, Jiang He came out of the mansion.

And he was holding… a bottle of cola.

"Grandson, this is a bottle of coke I've been saving for days. Come, have a drink—how could you get so baked just from running fifteen kilometers? Do cultivate yourself when you get back, and do your best to improve your physique."

Cheng Dongfeng was left dumbstruck right then and there.

What the hell.

This was not in the script!

No, Jiang He was so rich he considered Origin Fluid no different from mineral water. How could the 'cola' he has been saving for days really be 'cola'?

He opened the bottle cap.

Pop…

The aroma of cola wafted out.

Inside, Cheng Dongfeng crumbled. His entire being seemed to be drained dry after confirming that it was indeed cola, and gave Jiang He a fist-palm salute before saying, "Grand-master Jiang, I'll be taking my leave."

"Go on, be careful on your way back."

Jiang He was all smiles.

On the other hand, once Cheng Dongfeng left the lane of Jiang He's house, he promptly sped up to a dash.

What the hell. Could Zhou Yu, Old Duan, and the others already make their order?

What a loss!

A monumental one at that!

He was losing over several hundred thousand dollars for a bottle of cola!

Why should they go to the Feral restaurant? What is the highest rank of Feral meat offered there anyway? If he had known, he should have treated them to a grill—any Ferals he could hunt in the wildlands would be of a higher rank anyway!

Most importantly, it saved money!

Back home, Jiang He was laughing out loud.

He had teased Cheng Dongfeng on purpose—but others notwithstanding, that grandson he suddenly got was quite interesting.

Without further ado, he carried the metal chest and headed straight into the farm.

He opened the chest to find the 100 Orirocks kept neatly inside.

"Dumbo, get to work!"

Jiang He instructed, and Dumbo promptly charged its earth-type powers.

As it started digging, it asked, "How many holes should I dig, master?"

Jiang He had wanted to say 100, but considering that Dumbo's mathematics only reached 50, he said, "Dig fifty holes, twice."

Even as Dumbo dug away ahead, Jiang He was planting the Orirocks behind.

Soon, all 100 Orirocks were planted.

After that, Jiang He opened the sandalwood box and took out the Sword Will Barrenwort that was planted inside.

"There's no hurry to plant the Sword Will Barrenwort for now. The soil quality would definitely improve after my farm levels up, and the Sword Will Barrenwort planted afterward would have improved effects if I plant it then."

Even without Mysterious Soil, the soil of Jiang He's farm had the capacity to strengthen plants.

And soon, thirty Orirocks bloomed, and Jiang He began to harvest them in the wee hours of the morning.

[Ding!]

[100 Farm Points.]

[Ding!]

[100 Farm Points…]

As the System Notifications jingled in Jiang He's head again and again, the second batch of 'thirty Orirocks' bloomed after the first batch of trees were harvested and reduced to ashes.

There were four batches of Orirocks trees after the 100 were planted.

The last batch was only ten trees.

It takes two hours for a batch of Orirock trees to reach full bloom. By the time Jiang He finished harvesting the Orircoks, it was already seven in the morning and the sun had already risen.

Jiang He turned his eyes towards his System panel.

[Name: Jiang He]

[Cultivation: Immortal Path—complete Golden Pellet; Martial Arts—divine-tier (divine conversion)]

[Ability: Royal Sword, fire]

[Martial Arts Cultivation: Indestructible Diamond (Mastery), Eighteen Dragon Subduing Palms (Mastery), Blind Princess's Eight Practices (Third Practice), Strengthened Nine Yang Technique (Eighth Tier), Ninefold Thunderblade (Seventh Fold), Dragon-Elephant Prajna (Fifteenth Tier), Nine Stars Heavenly Body Formula (SecondTier), Three Thousand Calamities (Second Style), Twenty-Three Swords (First Style)]

[Owned Land: 3 Mu]

[Farm Level: 4 (EXP 50000/50000)]

[System Backpack: 18 boxes]

[System Shop: Unlocked]

[Farm Points: 2,250,000]

"Eh? I remembered that my Dragon-Elephant Prajna was on the eleventh tier. When did it reach fifteenth?"

Jiang He appeared rather surprised, but soon realized that it was normal. After all, the Nine Stars Heavenly Body Formula improved, and that it made sense that his Dragon-Elephant Prajna improved along with his physique.

Still, that cultivation was rather chickenfeed for Jiang He as he is now.

However, once could cultivate it since it was natural anyway, especially since it was quite imposing when using it in fights what with its special sound and visual effects.

Jiang He then turned towards the farm leveling conditions beneath the System Panel.

There were three of those.

Full EXP. Jiang He had already done that early on, and wasted untold amounts of it.

One 500kg chunk of Feral King flesh, and two 500kg chunks of rank-nine Feral flesh.

100 Orirocks.

Jiang He had as many Feral flesh as he needed—he kept those in 8 of his 18 boxes of storage space, let alone Orirocks.

He had dozens of thousands of those.

But the question now was: should he level up his farm?

"I've only accumulated 2,250,000 Farm Points, but it could be used up at any instant to improve himself. Should I go visit the other Holy Grounds to try getting some Orirocks and earn Farm Points?"

After all, once his farm levels up, the Farm Points he would earn would definitely be reduced if he planted Orirocks when the time comes.

However…

Jiang He thought about it, and eventually gave up.

It was time to level up his farm—he had been delaying it for too long. As for farm points… those could be earned later.

Taking out several Feral corpses, Jiang He slicing off a chunk of a Feral King's flesh as well as one chunk each from two rank-nine Ferals. After that, he brought out the 100 Oriricoks which he buried in the farm.

"System, farm level up!"

The thought came to mind.

Ooom!

In no time at all, mysterious energy began to permeate the farm.

"If I plant myself…"

Chapter 245: A World in a Grain of Sand: Grotto-Heaven Farm

"Why would I think that?

"Why would any farmer plant themselves as a seed?"

Jiang He quickly perished the thought even as it occurred to him and cut short his wild imagination. Focusing his spirit, he carefully felt the change occurring in the farm—the mystical energy was extending, shrouding the entire farm in no time at all.

The willow tree rapidly grew, affected by that energy.

At the same time, the Cloudscraper Vine bloomed abruptly, a frightening aura released from its body even as a new tendril grew out from the base of each of its original nine tendrils!

At first, the new tendrils was only as wide as a finger, but they enlarged quickly, becoming as long as the original nine tendrils even as it continued to grow, although at a slower pace.

Veins of emerald radiance shone atop the tendrils of the Cloudscraper Vine!

"The Cloudscraper Vine is divine-tier already?"

Jiang He looked delighted. That meant the house finally had another divine-tier aside from himself, and since the Cloudscraper Vine was a special lifeform, it could match divine-conversion elites even if it just recently reached divine!

It definitely was the best house-guarding… vine!

Still, what surprised Jiang He most was that there was now greenery over the piles of graves in a corner of his farm. Grave grass was beginning to grow out—even from the many graves that were only recently buried.

A fresh sprout also grew out of the Graywolf King's grave, soon growing into a small shoot.

At the same time, the walls around the farm were being pushed outwards as the farm's area slowly expands.

[Ding!]

[Your farm area is expanding.]

[Ding!]

[Your farm's soil quality improved!]

"…"

[Ding!]

[Farm leveled up.]

[Congratulations, host! You have improved your farm's level to 5. Additional rewards: Mysterious Seed x1, 6 System Backpack boxes, cultivation manual planting x3.]

[Your farm is now level 5, and has upgraded into Grotto-Heaven Farm.]

The System Notification jingled beside his ear then.

Taken aback, Jiang He then exclaimed in delight, "Grotto-Heaven Farm?"

'Grotto-Heaven' was a word that occured only too frequently in novels. Most big shots depicted would have a handful of Grotto-Heaven residences, carrying them around anywhere they went and putting them down wherever they liked.

As for Grotto-Heaven Farm…

Does the same principle apply?

With a single thought, Jiang He suddenly felt his body began to expand, and he was becoming larger and taller.

Of course, that was an illusion—Jiang He's body was not enlarging. Instead, the farm was shrinking, along with everything inside: the willow tree, the Cloudscraper Vine, Dumbo, and Trumbo.

But as a matter of fact, neither the Cloudscraper Vine nor the willow tree within the farm was shrinking.

It was a profound mystery that involved the principles of spatiality, and not easily explained.

Eventually, the farm was a grain-sized radiance that landed on Jiang He's palm.

Jiang He then held the grain in front of his eyes—he could clearly see everything inside the farm.

"This feels a little like the Buddhist legend of Mount Meru. Wouldn't I be able to carry the farm around as I like from now on, wherever I went? How convenient is it, being able to carry the farm anywhere, anytime?"

Jiang He tested it.

He could still enter the farm even though it was grain-sized, and the space inside did not change—in fact, it had expanded up to 9 Mu after leveling up again.

One Mu was 666 square meters, making 9 Mu a total of 5994 square meters.

It would be even more perfect if he placed his capsule mansion in a corner of the mansion too.

"But one mansion isn't enough."

"The farm would continue to expand as it levels up again in the future. I could modify the farm slightly, partitioning a residential area out of it where I'll put my capsule mansion, as well as other decorations like fake mountains and a flower patio. In fact, I could make an artificial lake, a lodge over the waters, rafts, and the like. Wouldn't it be perfect when I bring along a handful of maids while I strolled around the lake and go fishing?"

Jiang He was himself surprised by how wonderful his ideas were.

He could not feel more pleasure if that really could come to be.

Most importantly, the idea was very achievable. He had capsule mansions available at any moment, and he could leave the flower patio to the maids. As for fake mountain… He just had to plant a rock and let it grow on its own.

As for the artificial lake… he just had to draw some water.

"But I won't get the artificial lake done for now, since it's just 9 Mu worth of land."

"That said, we could get to setting up the other stuff first."

"The only problem here is…"

Jiang He looked up at the skies then.

It was a dull grayness overhead, and there was neither sun nor moon.

Perhaps he could consider getting his hands on some mystic treasure as the farm's celestial body?

"Mystic treasures… perhaps I could create some crafting technique. After all, aside from Sword Arrays, a cultivator must be able to craft items and brew pellets too."

"That said, even if I created a crafting technique, creating the sun and moon is not accomplishable in a while."

Suddenly, Jiang He remembered the Womb Realm, the microworld in the Secret Realm belonging to the Diamond Sect.

The night and day cycle exists in the Womb Realm, and Jiang He had a hunch that the sun and moon there were mystic treasures.

Should he pluck the sun and moon of the Womb Realm and put them on his farm?

"But… that's not very appropriate, is it?"

"After all, the lamas of the Diamond Sect had been quite courteous to me…"

"Right, the Sky Demon Cult!"

"Wasn't it said that they have a Secret Realm too? Although there's no telling if there are suns or moons in that microworld…"

Jiang He walked around his farm and closely sensed the change in his farm. Aside from the soil and area expansion, the increase in farm level filled it with Yuan Qi.

"The Yuan Qi in here must be thirty times more concentrated than the outside, isn't it? It's almost equal to a Secret Realm… cultivating one day in here is equal to cultivating for a month outside."

"Such a shame that I am not that gifted when it comes to cultivation. So, instead of sweating in here to cultivate, wouldn't it be better to farm harder in here? I'm willing to go through the hard work in exchange of the delight of the harvest."

Meow!

That was when Trumbo ran to him with notebook in paw.

It had interpreted Sky Daemon Invincibility, and was imitating Dumbo's style of wagging its tail to curry favor.

Jiang He opened the notebook and roughly scanned it a few times, only to find…

He still did not understand it.

Though the Sky Daemon Invincibility was translated from Tadpole Script to simplified text, its writing style was still ancient. Stuff like 'the way of all daemons is to go against the heavens', 'consuming the Yuan Qi of the world and refine the essence of the stars' or 'feeding on qi and never dying' leave the skull aching just from reading it.

Even so, he certainly could not let his pet know that he did not understand it.

Nonchalantly throwing the book back to Trumbo, he said, "Take it to Dumbo, study it and cultivate it on your own. It is only by studying that yourself that you would gain a more profound understanding of a cultivation technique."

Dumbo and Trumbo acted as if they had picked up treasure, picking up the notebook and running off to a corner of the farm to cultivate.

Jiang He took out the Unnamed Sword Array, redeemed a bag of Mysterious Soil, and planted it, before turning to Dumbo and Trumbo.

Dumbo was illiterate, and had to ask for Trumbo's instruction.

Trumbo adjusted its reading glasses that had no lenses and put up a scholarly look as he explained the meaning of the mnemonic chants in Sky Daemon Invincibility.

Dumbo appeared thoughtful, and would either nod or shake his head, appearing puzzled or understanding from time to time.

Pfft!

Jiang He almost laughed out loud. The dog was such an actor—how could it pretend so well?

It did not know a single letter and could only count to 50… and yet it put up so many expressions! Did it really believe it could understand Sky Daemon Invincibility?

Ooom!

All of a sudden…

Dumbo's aura shuddered before he began to absorb the Yuan Qi around him, exclaiming in delight, "I get it now, I get it now—strictly speaking, Sky Daemon Invincibility is a daemonic physique cultivation… it hones the body inside out, strengthening physicality and cultivate Daemonic Qi, Daemon Pellet and Daemon Soul…"

"When cultivated to mastery, I could be reborn with just a drop of blood, never dying as long as my daemon soul is not destroyed!"

Jiang He: "…"

Ooom!

The aura on Dumbo's body shook once again, and his cultivation leapt up from rank-seven novice to rank-seven intermediate. A dark Daemonic Qi also materialized from his body then, and the temperatures around it plummeted significantly.

Report chapter

Chapter 246: Immortal-Cutter Flying Dagger?

Meow?

Trumbo's jet-black eyes were bulging roundly with a look of curiosity filling its feline face.

It purred a few things, mouthing something unintelligible in cat language, while Dumbo stood on its rear legs, holding its front paws at its hip as it smugly said, "No need, I have already grasped Sky Daemon Invincibility up to initiate level. In days, I would ascend up to rank-eight, and be able to kill a rank-nine at any given time."

Meow!

Trumbo looked utterly envious, and it lay on the ground, dipping its head several times, before rising and carving several words into the ground with its blade, "Kowtowing to you, bro."

Dumbo stared at the words on the ground for a while before slapping Trumbo on the head, barking, "What the hell? Why is a cat daemon like you acting all cultured for? Don't you know daddy can't read?"

"…"

Jiang He couldn't help laughing.

What was this?

The silly ones gain silly blessings?

Dumbo could neither read nor count, and wouldn't make kindergarten if it were assessed with human education. After all, it's no big deal for kindergarten children to count up to 100 now, as well as simple calculation and abacus.

And yet, that dog which could not read a word of the Sky Daemon Invincibility grasped it after simply listening to it, and then cultivated to initiate levels.

As for Dumbo's mention of rank-eight killing rank-nine…

Jiang He actually thought that Dumbo was being a little humble.

Leaving aside having cultivated a daemonic technique, Dumbo certainly could punch above its tier if it was up against the bumbling Ferals which only ever fought with their brute strength. Since the dog had learned swordplay and Ucchusma Stonebreaker Palm amongst many other techniques, how could killing rank-nines not be a simple matter?

Ignoring Dumbo and Trumbo just then, Jiang He strode towards the graves.

At first, the twentyish graves were piled together and looked very weird, but after the oily green but varied grave grasses had grown, they gained an atypical sort of beauty.

Jiang He's eyes then reached one particular grave.

A small half-meter tree had grown, and had borne fruits resembling fiery-red tomatoes. Their shape differed from ordinary tomatoes, however, and it had the pattern of a blazing fire on its skin when Jiang He looked closer.

[Ding!]

[500 Farm Points.]

Jiang He plucked one of the tomatoes, held it in front of his eyes, and studied it carefully as a cluster of data appeared.

[Blazing Tomato]

[A crop that grew from the essence of a pinnacle A-class fire-type Awakened. Users gain A-class novice fire-type powers after consumption.]

Jiang He was taken aback.

Blazing…

Tomato?

Why did that name sound so awkward?

Still, awkwardness aside, the function of that red tomato was basically unnatural.

After all, floral spirits that aided the awakening of superpowers were extremely rare. Moreover, those that did help only provided a certain chance for awakening after consumption. On the other hand, the chance of awakening fire-type powers after consuming the Blazing Tomato was one hundred percent.

Moreover, obtaining A-class novice powers upon consumption meant those three tomatoes could instantly develop three fire-type Awakened, with equivalent abilities to rank-seven grandmasters.

"Was this the grave of the Sky Demon Cult's Fifth Elder?"

"I didn't really pay attention when I killed him. Was he a fire-type Awakened?"

[Ding!]

[500 Farm Points.]

[Ding!]

[500 Farm Points.]

Jiang He hence plucked the three Blazing Tomatoes, happily putting them in his System Backpack.

He had no use for those things since he, Dumbo, and Trumbo had already awakened fire-type powers anyway.

"I could give Sora one. Cooking would be more convenient after she awakened fire-type powers."

"As for the remaining two…"

Jiang He remembered Wang Siyu just then.

He had not seen the lass for some time; he could give one to her.

As for the last one, he would keep it for now.

After that, Jiang He went to the grave of the Sentinel of the Left.

A tuft of green grass with weirdly-shaped leaves was growing over it, each resembling long, thin combat blades.

[Ding!]

[100 Farm Points.]

Once again, Jiang He plucked it and held it in front of himself, with a series of data materializing.

[Twelve Leafed Sword Will Grass]

???

Question marks showed up all over Jiang He's face.

What the heck?

Is this a counterfeit of Sword Will Grasses?

Though it was a treasure in its own right, his grasp over Sword Will was already complete and it was useless for him. That said, since Trumbo could use it after reaching rank-eight after having learnt blade techniques.

Rearing a cat that had grasped blade will as a pet…

It was outstanding even when hearing it.

Jiang He then turned towards the graves of the Sky Demon Cult's two sentinels. A small fruit tree had bloomed from the graves, atop of which an unripe fruit was growing.

Truth be told, Jiang He was rather disappointed.

Was that it?

And here he was thinking that the so-called Sky Demon Arcanum would grow out of these two fellows' graves. He would able to study it for a bit to see if he could discover something if that happens—would it not be easier to kill any sky demons if they really came then?

Nonetheless, he reached out and plucked one of the unripe fruits.

[Ding!]

[10,000 Farm Points.]

What the hell?

Jiang He was astonished… 10,000 Farm Points? The fruit must be extraordinary, given its high value!

He stared at the fruit in his hand, and data appeared—

[Divine-tier Fruit]

[Martial artists and awakened who consume this would gain a certain chance of success when attempting ascension to divine-tier.]

Damn it!

Jiang He was speechless.

"Celebrated for nothing. And here I thought what treasure it would be… what use is this anyway?"

A certain chance of success when attempting ascension to divine-tier might sound awesome… but what use was adding a chance to it? And who knows what is the rate of said chance?

Moreover, reaching divine-tier was a simple matter.

All one had to do was find the divine door, and combine spirit and mind to break it. If a martial arts newbie like him could succeed accidentally, the other senior martial artists…

"Hmmm…"

"Alright, maybe those senior martial artists need that very much?"

For example, old Long Mountain Lin of Sichuan's Lin clan had originally reached the end of his lifespan, but still had no confidence in reaching divine-tier…

"That old man is a good person. I'll talk to him on the phone for a bit after this, and sell this to him if he really can't ascend. Either way, this thing is not useful to me."

Jiang He put away the two Divine-tier Fruits for now.

As for the remaining grave grass…

They were all graves of rank-eight individuals anyway and nothing much to look at. He could leave those to Dumbo and Trumbo to clean them up.

"Okay."

"Well, I have to fix a standard now: all corpses below rank-nine can be dumped—planting them is not worth it."

Meanwhile, the sky was already brightly lit.

The sun had risen over the east, showering a ray of sun into Jiang He's farm.

After some thought, Jiang He took out the pitch-black bottle gourd he got from the Graywolf King's corpse.

To tell the truth, Jiang He was very interested in the bottle gourd.

It could release air blades once Daemon Qi was infused, and the blades were not weak. In fact, Jiang He could not help remembering the Immortal-Cutter Flying Dagger, the treasure belonging to Lu Ya, a prominent figure of the daemonic race spoken about in divine myths!

The daemonic weapon, Immortal-Cutter Flying Dagger…

Even so, Jiang He wondered if that item was actually a counterfeit mystic item some daemonic eminence crafted in ancient times, based on the Immortal-Cutter Flying Dagger.

Other factors notwithstanding, that was very likely.

Without a word, Jiang He began to dig.

Who cared if the Immortal-Cutter Flying Dagger was a fake? He would plant it before anything else.

Yup.

He directly poured in an entire bag of Mysterious Soil. Not only would it purify the Daemon Qi, it also strengthened the item to a certain extent—so, why not?

Report chapter

Chapter 247: Mutated Mushroom: The Doom Shroom?

Jiang He planted the pitch-black bottle gourd, but only after having redeemed a pack of Mysterious Soil and pouring everything into the hole.

With that done, Jiang He turned to glance at the spot where he had planted Unnamed Sword Array. There, he found a small jasper shoot had grown, and it was just three inches and far from maturing and blooming fruits.

Jiang He whipped out his phone to check the time then, and sighed. "Somehow, I've been farming overnight."

"Still, it's labor. I should not keep at it—all work and no play makes Jack a dull boy."

Hence, Jiang He re-enlarged his farm and put it back where it was.

Sora came greeting him with a smile as he returned to the mansion, asking, "What do you want for breakfast, master?"

"Cook some porridge."

Jiang He replied. "I've been feeling a little heated since all I've been eating recently are either Feral King meat or Feral Emperor meat. So, let's have some mung bean porridge to quell the heat."

"Master…"

At those words, Sora lowered her head and bit her lip. Tugging at her own sleeves, she murmured under her breath, "I can help you cool down too."

"Cool down, my foot!"

Jiang He was rather speechless. 'Why does she always obsess about that every single day?

'And why aren't you off to make breakfast?'

Sora shot Jiang He a pitiful look and went to the kitchen miserably. Still, she soon returned with three mung beans in her hand, saying, "Master, there are only three mung beans left."

"It's fine, three is enough."

Jiang He took the three mung beans, called out to Dumbo and passed it the three beans, saying, "Go plant these beans at the farm and come to me when they mature. I'll harvest them myself."

"Got it, master. Aren't you confident about my performance even now?"

With that, it darted away.

Jiang He then turned around. "Sora, get me my laptop from upstairs."

Sora nodded and quickly went to Jiang He's bedroom to do so. Plugging it to a power socket and connecting it to the internet, Jiang He logged on to Warrior Home and began browsing.

His 'want-to-buy' post for mutated plants, Orirocks, and immortal arts before had now received many replies.

"Eh?"

Jiang He's eyes lit up even as he read.

One of the replies from a username Zhou alleged that she knew the location of a batch of mutated mushrooms, and even left what appeared to be the number… for a landline.

His post about purchasing immortal arts received a reply too—a user's whose ID was the 'Senior Disciple of Xishan's Wanshougong' claimed that there was an ancient text available in the scripture chamber of Wanshougong, of which an immortal art could have been recorded.

After some thought, Jiang He searched the web about the Wanshougong of Xishan.

"Located atop Mount Xiaoyao of West Mountain City in the Nanchang district, Xishan is a sacred place for Daoism, founded by Xu Xun, the True Lord of Godly Arts and Wondrous Healing…"

Jiang He then searched about Xu Xun.

There was much information about the True Lord of Godly Arts and Wondrous Healing available online: he was the founding master consecrated by the Mount Lu Path, and was honored with titles such as True Lord Xu, Celestial Master Xu, and the Loyal Immortal. He also held great influence in Daoism, and was one of the four Celestial Masters alongside Zhang Daoling of Mount Longhu, Ge Xuan the Hermit Sage of Taiji, and Sa Shou, the True Lord of Praise and Grace.

Indeed, the many stories about Xu Xun were painted mythically, and examples include True Lord Xu slaying the drake and purifying the river, as well as forging the octagonal well to still the dragon's soul.

Jiang He's interest was certainly piqued.

The founding master of Xishan's Wanshougong was quite something, although there was no telling if the rumors were true. Still, it was very likely that an immortal art could be found there if they were real.

After some thought, Jiang He whipped out his phone and dialed the number of Senior Disciple of Xishan's Wanshougong', but the dial tone continued for thirty seconds with no one answering.

"He might be busy. I'll just have to call back later."

Jiang He then dialed the number of the person who self-alleged to have found a batch of mutated mushrooms.

This time, the call got through in seconds.

"Hello, Chang'an Jingwu Dojo. Whom might you be looking for?"

The voice was crisp and sounded like a cute girl.

Nonetheless, Jiang He had no intention of flirting and went straight to the point, "I'm looking for a woman named Zhou."

"Mrs. Zhou?

There were seconds of silence from the other end before the crisp voice asked, "Sir, may I ask if you're an acquaintance of Mrs. Zhou?"

"No.

"She gave me this number when she replied to my forum post at Warrior Home, about buying seeds of mutated crops."

Jiang He spoke earnestly, but laughter could be heard from the other end. "Sorry, sir, but there's no Mrs. Zhou in this dojo… that said, there is a Miss Zhou—I'm the one who replied to your post.

"…"

That cute girl proved quite mischievous.

Jiang He then asked pointedly, "You've mentioned that you know about the location of a mutated mushroom cluster. Is that true?"

"Of course it's true!"

The cute girl seemed displeased at being doubted by Jiang He, although she continued, "I used to live at the village, and my parents farmed mushrooms. One night, around a month ago before we moved to Chang'an, explosions could be heard from the mushroom greenhouse back home. I was curious so I went for a look, and found a fully-black mushroom."

"Are you sure the mushroom mutated?" Jiang He replied. "From what I know, many types of mushrooms turn black under excessive exposure to sunlight."

"Would I lie to you?"

The girl was rather furious after being doubted twice, and Jiang He could hear her smacking her own chest even from across the phone as she declared, "I, Zhou Xiaolan never lie. I messaged you because I read that you are buying information about mutated crops at a high price—I'm hanging up if you doubt me again."

Oh?

The cute girl actually was bold, but also harsh and unreasonable?

And what's with that loud smacking of your chest?

Asserting dominance?

Nonetheless, Jiang He flatly replied, "That's not what I meant. I'm just confirming if those were really mutated mushrooms."

"I'm very sure!"

Zhou Xiaolan exclaimed. "You don't know what happened then… it really spooked me out!"

"That pitch-black mushroom even had two red eyes that shoot flames. Then, after breathing several jets of flames, the mushroom suddenly expanded and I heard a bang…"

"It blew up."

"It was a huge explosion. I was knocked unconscious by the shockwave even though I was outside the greenhouse, but like the saying goes: every cloud has a silver lining, I awakened superpowers thanks to that explosion."

Jiang He: "…"

What do you mean, every cloud has a silver lining? Who even asked about that?

I'm asking about the mutated mushrooms!

Moreover…

Pitch-black?

Two little red eyes that shoot flames?

Blowing up after expanding?

Isn't that the Doom Shroom from Plant Vs Zombies?!

Report chapter

Chapter 248: Mung Bean Bombs and Daemonic-Pellet Tier Fruit

"The Doom Shroom?

"Interesting!"

Jiang He could not help chuckling as he hung up. What could he get if he planted the Doom Shroom?

Soon, Dumbo was calling from the outside.

"Master, master, the mung beans have bloomed!"

Jiang He stepped out to the farm to find the three mung beans shoot having grown up to half a meter tall, each bearing a hundred mung bean pods that were over twenty centimeters long.

There were easily over a dozen catties of mung beans here, right?

It would last half a year even if served in porridges from time to time.

[Ding!]

[1 Farm Point.]

A single mung bean pod earned Jiang He 1 Farm Point. It was not much but better than none, so Jiang He plucked every pod off the three mung bean trees before taking one out to check.

And once he did…

He was dumbstruck.

The beans inside the pods were… weirdly shaped.

"Damn it, why did the mung beans turn into bullets?"

There were ten mung beans inside each pod, but each oily-green mung bean was shaped like a bullet. Having a bad feeling about it, Jiang He held one bean between his fingers and studied it closely, with a cluster of data soon popping up—

[Mung Beans]

[Inedible]

[Usage: Combines functions of sword will and sniper rifles.]

[Attribute: Triggers a violent explosion and possess powerful armor-piercing effect. Ignores target's True Qi guard and physical defense once the armor-piercing effect is triggered.]

Jiang He was furious.

I just wanted some mung bean porridge. Was this necessary?

'Still, does it not seem that all crops connected to beans were inedible?

'After planting, peas become bombs and potatoes[1] become landmines. And now, even planted mung beans become bullets?'

"That said…

"The function is quite outrageous.

"It has a powerful armor-piercing effect, that ignores True Qi guard and physical defense once triggered… doesn't that mean even average persons could have a shot at killing rank-nine, or even divine-tier elites?"

Of course, divine-tier elites possess frightening reflexes and senses.

Therefore, trying to snipe a divine-tier elite was basically impossible for a normal human. They would be noticed the instant they aimed at their target—how fast could divine-tier elites move in a split second?

They definitely could evade the bullet entirely.

In fact, even rank-nines could do that, let alone divine-tier elites.

Moreover, if the bullet hits but the armor-piercing effect did not trigger, there was not much chance of killing a rank-nine or a divine-tier.

"Of course, that also depends on how big the explosion triggered would be after the mung bean hits. Even rank-eights would survive a smaller explosion, much less rank-nines… but if armor-piercing effects triggered and it detonates directly in the target's body, that would be horrific."

Even divine-tier elites would not be that tough physically, unless they refined their body on the side.

As such, should the mung bean bullet explode in the target's body, they really could be blown to death if caught off guard.

"Still, there's no telling how high the chance of armor-piercing effect is, and whether the force of the explosion is devastating enough… there must also be a limit to how much it ignores True Qi guard and physical defense, or it would be too scary if it has no limits. If I could get some poison from a Feral Emperor or something even more lethal and lace it on the bullets, I could kill the target with poisoning even if the explosion did not kill them."

Nevertheless, Jiang He did not own a sniper rifle even though the mung pea bombs were clearly sniper rifle bullets, and it wouldn't fit the gatling gun. Hence, Jiang He gave up on testing it on himself.

He estimated that it would not be a big deal even if he got shot since his physical cultivation was not bad, and he was tough from muscles, bone, skin down to his tiny veins.

Each mung bean pod had ten mung beans.

Therefore, the 100 pods on each tree meant 1000 mung bean bullets on each tree, totaling up to 3000 beans for the three trees.

"After I'm done here, I'll ask the military for a sniper rifle to fiddle with when I get back. I'll try to plant the sniper rifle so that it gains armor-piercing effects as well, so that the gun and the bullet's armor-piercing effect stack and increase in turn.

"Anyway, I could try planting other beans to see if I get something even more powerful."

Jiang He thought then.

Since there was no mung bean porridge to be had, he would just skip breakfast.

Porridge at 11 in the morning, when it was almost time for lunch?

"Sora, skip the porridge. Cook rice instead."

Jiang He told his maid before heading to the farm again.

Inside…

The corpse of the Graywolf King that he had planted could be harvested now.

An ancient, powerful but small tree that was less than three meters had grown out of the Graywolf King's grave. The tree felt as if it had grown for over centuries and millennia, with its balding appearance and handful of yellow leaves dangling.

On the tips of the branches were three fruits.

They appeared blackened as if rotten.

"Why fruits?"

Jiang He frowned.

What the heck?

Was the System really that whimsical?

He would get Ferals from the Ferals that he planted before, which followed the rule of 'you reap what you sow'. Was it therefore not bizarre that planting a wolf king got him three fruits?

[Ding!]

[10,000 Farm Points.]

Jiang He reached out to pluck one black fruit, and appeared taken aback after hearing the System Notification.

That one fruit actually earned him ten thousand Farm Points, just like the divine-tier fruits that grew out of the Sky Demon Cult's cardinals.

He focused his eyes, and data appeared.

[Condensed-Pellet Fruit]

[A World Soul Fruit formed from the essence of a daemonic-pellet pinnacle tier daemon. Users attempting ascension to Daemonic Pellet tier gain a certain of chance of success after consumption.]

"As I've thought!"

Jiang He breathed a long sigh.

Its effect was more or less the same as the divine-tier fruit, although the specific usage was different.

Divine-tier fruits increase the chance for martial artists to locate and break the divine door, thereby improving the odds of reaching divine-tier fruit. The condensed-pellet fruits, on the other hand, were for daemons to increase their chance of condensing Daemon Pellets.

Moreover…

From what Jiang He could tell, daemonic cultivators varied from actual Ferals.

Ferals relied on individual evolution to improve their abilities, whereas daemonic cultivators were similar to human cultivators: they cultivate Daemon Qi and condense Daemon Pellets, even understanding the path of the universe…."

"I could save these condensed-pellet fruits for Dumbo and Trumbo… oh, I wonder if the willow tree could eat fruits. If it doesn't, I could keep it for the black panther."

Jiang He plucked the three condensed-pellet fruits and turned towards the spot where he planted the Unnamed Sword Array.

The jasper tree was growing very slowly, and was only half-a-meter tall at the moment.

"Maybe that's because the Unnamed Sword Array is high-level and therefore has a longer life cycle, but there's no hurry… wait, what is that?"

Jiang He's gaze had shifted beside the jasper tree… where bottle gourd vines were growing out of the ground.

Yes.

It really was bottle gourd vines.

Having planted the Bottle Gourd Brothers himself, Jiang He naturally recognized what the bottle gourd vines looked like.

"Damn!"

His face turned green at that, at a loss for words and unable to decide if he should laugh or cry. "Why did the daemonic bottle gourd I plant become bottle gourd vines? What the heck… it wouldn't grow seven more Bottle Gourd Brothers, would it?"

Jiang He was dumbstruck.

Wouldn't it be a tremendous loss if the daemonic weapon that resembled the Immortal-Cutting Flying Dagger turned into the Seven Bottle Gourd Brothers?

Most importantly…

He already had the Bottle Gourd Brothers.

If he got seven more…

Jiang He felt extremely uncomfortable at the idea of fourteen brats clutching his feet and calling 'gramps' every single day—no, it felt like his head was about to split apart!

Still, the bottle gourd vines were growing quickly and would soon bear fruit.

In that very moment, Jiang He was afraid.

Afraid that singing voices of 'little brother, grow bigger', 'little brother, grow bigger' would resound within his farm…

And yet, even before he could really be scared…

The seven flowers on the bottle gourd vines had wilted into seven small bottle gourds.

Jiang He: "…"

Would he still make it if he plucked the bottle gourd vines now?

[1] Potato (土豆) literally means 'ground-bean' in mandarin.

Report chapter

Chapter 249: Blazing Violet-Golden Eaglet

"I planted the Bottle Gourd Brothers from bottle gourd seeds. I'll never believe I would get Bottle Gourd Brothers from a daemonic mystic item too!"

Eventually, Jiang He resisted the impulse of uprooting the bottle gourd vines.

Moreover, the growth of the bottle gourd vines slowed considerably after the bottle gourds formed and dangled. It would be ripe for the plucking in over an hour, so Jiang He stopped paying it any heed.

Instead, he strode towards another corner of the farm… where two gigantic eggs lay.

They were two meters tall, fully golden and had some curious natural markings on them, giving them mysteriously attractive appearances.

They were the eggs of the Golden-Crowned Black Eagle which Jiang He had planted. Jiang He had imagined that a giant tree bearing hundreds of eggs would appear, and he could have one every day when that happened.

Perhaps…

The egg laid from the coupling between a top Feral King like the Golden-Crowned Black Eagle and the Feral Emperor Golden-Winged Roc would definitely not be low in nutritional value.

"What the heck…"

Jiang He shook his head feebly. His luck seemed to have been down lately, and it felt like nothing ever went smoothly. Indeed, those two eggs had turned gold after they were planted, even bearing colorful markings….

But what use were those?

Did it make the eggs tastier?

Jiang He walked up, and only then did he realized that there were two golden leaves beneath the eggs—it seemed that the eggs had taken root as well before growing.

He plucked one of the golden eggs.

[Ding!]

[20,000 Farm Points.]

A System Notification jingled beside his ear then.

Jiang He put the egg aside and stared at it… but before data could appear, he heard dull thudding sounds as the eggshell was pecked through from the inside, and a little woolly head poked out.

The little head appeared very delighted after seeing Jiang He, and it chirped a few times before continuing to peck the egg.

Its beak appeared soft and not hard, but was very powerful once it started pecking. Since the eggshell was quite tough as well, sparks flew as the pecking continued, although it was soon pecked apart.

After that, an eaglet with fluffy golden down all over its body stepped out of the egg.

It was no different from a chick, aside from being over twenty times larger. Moreover, it was wobbling since it was newly born, and it was flapping its fluffy little wings as it chirped and lunged towards Jiang He.

Jiang He shifted sideways to evade it, and the eagle dropped to the ground.

It got to its feet, hanging its head as it chirped, its little teary eyes appearing rather sad.

Jiang He turned towards Dumbo who was lying on its back, chewing on a carrot while wearing baggy shorts with flowery prints.

"Dumbo, what's the little one saying?" He asked.

Dumbo tilted its head and listened for seconds before snickering.

"It's calling you mommy, Master."

Damn it!

Jiang He's face turned dark. Being called gramps by the Bottle Gourd Brothers notwithstanding, why did the golden eaglet call him mommy to?

That being said, he seemed to have read somewhere that chicks that hatched would imprint on the first person they see, and consider them their mommy. Could that be the same for the golden eaglet?

"Chirp!"

The golden eaglet continued chirping.

Jiang He scowled and yelled, "Don't you call me mommy!"

'What mom?

'I'm a man in the most natural sense—how could I be a mommy?!

'At least call me dad… bleh, shouldn't you at least call me master?'

Holding that thought, Jiang He stared at the golden eaglet then, and a series of data appeared.

[Golden Eaglet]

[Tier: Rank-six]

[Ability: Golden]

[Attribute: Possess a trace of bloodline inherited from the Golden-Winged Roc, an ancient divine beast.]

Jiang He's eyes lit up.

A golden eaglet…

With the bloodline of the Golden-Winged Roc, an ancient divine beast?

Wasn't that just awesome?

Of course, it was already quite obvious since the eaglet was rank-six and was inherently gifted once it hatched. How much stronger would if become if it was groomed as well?

"Divine beast bloodline…"

Jiang He sighed.

He received a golden eagle with ancient divine beast bloodline just from planting one egg?

"No… perhaps the Golden-Winged Roc possessed divine beast bloodline too?"

Jiang He suddenly felt a flash of inspiration just then.

Although the Golden-Winged Roc named itself so… it was truly powerful!

Even Wang Hou, Dong Haichuan and Yang Luchan combined did not manage to defeat it.

Could that thing possess divine beast bloodline too?

Indeed, it just might.

"What a shame…"

Jiang He found it a shame just then.

He killed the Golden-Winged Roc, or his physical beast-taming technique might be able to subjugate it…

"Whatever. It's dead, why think about that stuff?"

"Furthermore, the physical beast-taming technique isn't that perfect, and there is a huge chance of injury and crippling in the process. I might even kill it before I tame it, and the final outcome would still be the same?"

Either way, he had a golden eaglet now.

He would groom it, and how perfect would it be when its bloodline regresses?

Hence, sticking to his guns, Jiang He plucked the second golden egg.

[Ding!]

[20,000 Farm Points.]

The same thing happened: once plucked, the chick within began to peck at the eggshell and emerged.

However, the second golden eaglet was much quieter. It merely chirped a few times before turning silent, although it appeared stronger and did not have wobble as it walked.

"Hold on…"

"These two golden eaglets aren't quite the same."

There was a flash in Jiang He's eyes as he checked out the second golden eaglet. It was all fluffy as well, although this one had violet speckles over its head that was visible but inconspicuous.

As Jiang He focused his gaze, data popped up as he expected.

[Blazing Violet-Golden Eaglet]

[Tier: Rank-six]

[Ability: Golden, fire]

[Attribute: Possess a trace of bloodline inherited from the Golden-Winged Roc, an ancient divine beast, with some extent of mutation.]

Wonderful.

A mutated species…

And the name Blazing Violet-Golden Eaglet sounded so awesome.

Jiang He remembered an immortal warrior novel he had read then. It categorized divine beasts in detail, and aside from the standard groups of lesser divine beasts, intermediate divine beasts, higher divine beasts, and greater divine beasts, there was also mutant divine beasts.

And mutant divine beasts were quite impressive since they were unmatched against beings of the same tier.

If he raised the Blazing Violet-Golden Eaglet a little and its bloodline regressed, would it not develop into a mutated divine beast?

"Dumbo, Trumbo, you two would be in charge of caring for these two eaglets from now on. I'll hold you responsible if they aren't raised right!"

Nearby.

The bottle gourd vines which grew out of the daemonic bottle gourd had matured, but Jiang He did not pluck the seven bottle gourds immediately.

Sora had already cooked lunch, and it would not be too late until after he ate.

Most importantly…

Jiang He was apprehensive.

What if it was another Seven Bottle Gourd Brothers after he harvested them?

"I'll lose my mind if it really was, and just kill them right then and there!"

While Jiang He was peacefully farming at home, there were serious problems outside.

Regions where Feral Kings resided were resounding with their bellows in rage, their Feral lackeys flocking and possibly starting a Feral Swarm at any moment.

After all, news that Jiang He had slain the Black King Drake, the Red Toad King, the Violet-Crowned Golden Eagle, the Golden-Crowned Black Eagle, the Golden-Winged Roc and the Graywolf King was slowly spreading amongst the Feral Kings.

The many Feral Kings were shocked and enraged!

Under most circumstances, there would be divine-tier human elites guarding the cities nearby Feral territories where Feral Kings prowled.

However, several Feral Kings approached the human cities within a single day, threatening the human elites so that they hand out Jiang He—or there would be war.

Some human divine-tier elites were focusing on their cultivation lately, and did not went out of their way to ask about recent news, let alone know who Jiang He was… therefore, in the face of the Feral King's interrogation as they charged up to the human cities, they were left drawing a blank and baffled.

Jiang He?

What?

Since when has there been someone so awesome in the Hua Nation?

Cutting down five Feral Kings as well as the Golden-Winged Roc… why had they not heard a thing about that?

It would make sense if the human elite had an even-temper and come up slightly short in ability, not to mention that there was an agreement between humans and the Ferals' leaders. On the other hand, Jiang He's killing of so many Feral eminences was basically a massacre…

Such a human elite speaking reason with the Ferals?

Nonetheless…

Luocheng base city… or the former city of Luocheng.

An elite of the Shaolin Temple stood guard over this place.

He was a powerful warrior monk said to have reached the third level of divine-tier—divine-union. Still, he had a fiery temper despite being a monk, since he was a follower of Acala the Immovable, a wrathful deity… and so immediately killed the Feral King right then and there.

All at once…

The many Feral Kings became even more furious and restless. Over fifty thousand Ferals hence gathered in the wildlands outside Luocheng city base, with enormous Feral unrest about to erupt…

And yet, just as the Ferals started to gather, a blade radiance shot forth from the horizon, landed amongst the Ferals before going on a slaughter. Alone, it slew over ten thousand Ferals, including almost a hundred high-ranked Ferals and three Feral Kings.

Hence, the various Ferals ready to rampage across the Hua Nation were pacified…

But at Shennongjia, the Dragoncroc Emperor was fuming.

It took to the air and roared endlessly, projecting a ten-thousand-meter-long silhouette of itself upon the clouds that was at once menacing and ferocious.

The Dragoncroc Emperor kept yelling its demand to meet Wang Hou, that it would go on a slaughter if he didn't come.

The Martial Arts Department of Jingdu City.

A scowling Wang Hou found Three Blades Lin, stared at him for three whole minutes before asking, "Were you behind what happened outside Luocheng?"

Three Blades Lin had a dark look on his face but said nothing.

Wang Hou then said, "It definitely wasn't you. If you were that good, you wouldn't still be divine-tempest now."

Damn it.

Upset now, Three Blades Lin grumbled. "Minister Wang, that's a little inappropriate for you to say that in my face…"

"Your gramps?"

"Damn it!"

Furious, Three Blades Lin seethed. "Forget belittling me in my face. Isn't cursing me inappropriate?"

Ignoring Three Blades Lin, Wang Hou suddenly rose to his feet and said, "I've watched the video. The one who fought was very powerful, and not even I might win against them. In the Hua Nation… only your gramps had reached that level when it comes to blade technique."

"Eh?"

Three Blades Lin only came to a realization then.

So Wang Hou was not cursing 'gramps', but actually meant his grandfather…

"My grandfather is back?" He exclaimed in delight.

Wang Hou rubbed his temples rather helpless. "Why didn't your grandfather come back to Jingdu City when he returned? Why would he go to Luocheng? The Ferals should have been allowed to roam freely over there, since we still have several elites available. When the time comes, we could use the opportunity to kill the two Feral Emperors and have the military clean up the lands with missiles, blasting the gathered Ferals to death."

"But now, the Dragoncroc Emperor is upset with that massacre of his!"

Still, Wang Hou was not afraid of the Dragoncroc Emperor.

After all, Hua Nation's best did not lose out to the Ferals, and it was not as if they had no chance if they included the Five Holy Grounds.

Even so, the military elite on duty mentioned that he sensed several additional auras in addition to the Dragoncroc Emperor's raging bellows yesterday. Each aura did not dull in comparison to the Dragoncroc Emperor's, and could even be stronger…

Wang Hou mused to himself while tapping his desk with fingers, before suddenly breaking out into laughter.

"Well, let's kill away when it comes to those vermin. The Hua Nation did not enjoy its current peace entirely through negotiations, but by death. Would those Feral Kings had willingly come to the table if we did not put the fear of death in them?"

"I'll head to Shennongjia then, and see for myself what devilry is backing the Dragoncroc Emperor!"

Report chapter

Chapter 250: The Bottle Gourd Brothers Eating Bottle Gourds

"How bold of you, Minister Wang!"

A voice suddenly rang beside Wang Hou's and Three Blades Lin's ears. It was faint—at once close yet distant, and neither Wang Hou nor Three Blades Lin could find who had spoken.

Wang Hou's face twitched, but soon regained composure, unable to resist a small smile.

He 'saw' the new arrival.

On the other hand, Three Blades Lin was absolutely astonished. Extending his spirit to scan around wildly but finding no one, he promptly drew his combat blade and yelled, "Who's there? Are you even a heroic gentleman, sneaking around?"

"Old Lin…"

Wang Hou tried to stop Three Blades Lin, but the latter was already smirking, "Come out if you're that impressive! I shall see what kind of a person has the guts to put on airs—daddy here will split your head, believe it!"

Three Blades Lin's real name was Lin Wenshu, but rarely anyone used it. Everyone preferred Blade King or Three Blades Lin, and the reason for it was… mostly because the blade technique he developed himself only had three styles.

Still, those three styles were not to be underestimated. He was crowned the title of Blade King because he deserved it, and his three-styled blade technique was imposing and overbearing, because once the three blades were unleashed, it would kill or at least cripple the target once it made contact.

Even if the opponent could parry all three blades, the next barrage would follow, one coming after the other without end. That was why rarely anyone of the same tier could stand up to Three Blades Lin.

Moreover, whenever he was about to fight, he would imitate the generals of old in a standoff, dissing the opponent before going to business. He would always 'daddy here will split your head, believe it!' whenever he started, which was how he earned his reputation.

That being said…

You actually yelled 'daddy here will split your head, believe it!' when you have no idea who it was?

Wang Hou held his forehead.

What the heck.

Three Blades Lin…

Was he really that rash? To the point that Wang Hou could not hold him back?

Footsteps could be heard outside Wang Hou's office then, as an elderly man wearing a Tang suit strode inside.

His hair was all white, but he looked very spirited.

There was a storm in his very gait, and his back was upright without any sense of hunching.

Nonetheless, he appeared ashen faced, and once he entered and saw Three Blades Lin, he barked angrily, "Doggone it! Who did you think I am?!"

Three Blades Lin's whole body shuddered upon hearing that voice and he looked baffled as he turned to the old man. Quickly squeezing a smile, he chuckled. "You're back, gramps?"

"Your cultivation has improved so much! I didn't even notice you after extending my spirit."

"Get out!"

The old man scolded angrily. "I don't have a grandson as awesome as you… I wouldn't dare to call myself your gramps, since you're acting more like my gramps."

"Calm down, Gramps. I didn't find you with my spirit, alright? I thought someone came on purpose to provoke us…." Three Blades Lin quickly said, even subtly throwing Wang Hou a look and gesturing for him to defend him—which Wang Hou pretended he did not see.

Nonetheless, after seeing that the old man had calmed down after yelling, Wang Hou approached him with a smile. "You've returned, Elder Lin?"

Three Blades Lin's grandfather had almost lived for 200 years.

His name was Lin Tianzheng, and was more or less equal to Dong Haichuan and Yang Luchan in seniority, as the Lin clan of Jingdu was a martial clan with an extensive legacy and strong depth. Indeed, they were considerably influential than the three great martial clans of Jiangnan.

Now, he sat carefreely on the sofa and laughed. "Minister Wang, I shall come with you to Shennongjia. The Dragoncroc Emperor was acting all smug because a group of ancient daemons has it back, although they are not showing themselves to everyone because something is holding them back."

"Oh?"

Wang Hou's gaze twitched as he said hesitantly, "Ancient daemons?"

"That's right."

Three Blades Lin's gramps said with a serious look. "Minister Wang, the heritage site I entered in the island nation is an immortal's inheritance. I can't divulge the specific information I obtained there, since I swore a divine oath when accepting the legacies within."

"That said, I have found some ancient text and came to learn many ancient secrets… though those aren't exactly secrets. During pre-history—early-Qin, in other words—the cultivators of that era mainly trained in immortal arts and not martial arts."

"Yuan Qi was plentiful in that age and many grotto-heavens exist. Humans may cultivate as immortals just liked daemons, but a global upheaval extinguished all immortal arts and the cultivators began to fall in numbers until they eventually disappeared, just like daemon cultivators."

Wang Hou appeared thoughtful and that, and asked, "You mean… daemon cultivators existed even before history?"

"That's not certain."

Lin Tianzheng shook his head in reply. "It has been over 2000 years since early-Qin to present-day—even if daemon cultivators lived longer than humans, there wouldn't be many that survived until today. That said, it won't be surprising if we never find one such eminence if they had opened a microworld, hiding within to cultivate and flourish."

Wang Hou's face twitched again.

Meanwhile, Lin Tianzheng continued. "According to the ancient text I read after entering the heritage side, it seemed that there definitely would be such microworlds on Earth—as for how many, I wouldn't know."

Pausing, he then added, "When I entered the immortal heritage site of the mountain which counts as one such Secret Realm, I did not find any living person. However, I have the feeling that there must still be people alive in that heritage site, but could not show up because he was slumbering or some other reason."

Beside him, Wang Hou had not said a word for a long time.

He was not quite shocked by Lin Tianzheng's words. In fact, Wang Hou had been searching for that stuff since years ago and had some of his own theories, but Lin Tianzheng's information merely proved his theory today.

And yet…

Those words left Wang Hou appearing immeasurably somber just then.

Originally, the situation on Earth was slowly calming down. The days to come would be difficult and there might be endless battles against the Ferals, and the countless martial artists would have to fight and cull Ferals for decades, centuries or even longer…

Even so, all of that was worth it because it was a fight for his own destiny.

But now?

Wang Hou felt an overflowing feebleness inside as old mysteries were getting unraveled. And how many more haze of doubts was still lurking behind this world?

What actually happened in the early-Qin dynasty that caused immortal arts to be lost, and the flourishing of the Old Martial Era?

Why did the Degenerate Age abruptly come to be centuries ago?

And why had Spirit Qi returned now?

But after a dozen minutes, Wang Hou came to his senses, took his Thermos cup and had a sip of tea before abruptly laughing. "What do these mysteries have to do with me anyway?"

"I just have to watch over the Hua Nation!"

He got to his feet and laughed out loud, an overbearing aura flowing out of his body and laughing, "Elder Lin, you must be tired from the long journey just after leaving the heritage site. Have a good rest—I would be going alone to Shennongjia and that's enough."

Whoosh!

Wang Hou walked up to his window and promptly took to the air.

Lin Tianzheng did not stop him, and simply smiled with a nod…

Wang Hou had the style of a leader.

Then, as he turned to look at Three Blades Lin beside him, he could not help scolding him again, before his tone changed and he asked, "By the way, who is Jiang He?"

Clearly, Lin Tianzheng had heard about Jiang He's slaying of five Feral Kings and the Golden-Winged Roc after returning from the heritage site.

Meanwhile, Jiang He had just finished lunch.

After working overnight in his farm, Jiang He felt a little tired after eating, and so headed straight upstairs to sleep. He planned to sleep until tomorrow, adjusting his work-sleep schedule—but he woke up just as night came.

That left Jiang He a little irritated.

Everyone else would work come sunrise and rest come sunset, but what about him?

Day and night were completely reversed for him.

"I really need to adjust my work-rest schedule… and the best way to do that is to release the Twenty-Three Swords and consume my spirit, which was best done at night, after which I could go to bed… but who should I release it on?"

Jiang He went downstairs and headed to the farm, where he had a flash of inspiration.

"Yes, I could look for the Dragoncroc Emperor… that damned worm was hiding and spying on me when I was fighting the Golden-Winged Roc. It was definitely up to no good!"

Nonetheless, once Jiang He entered the farm, the two eagles promptly charged at him, flapping their wings.

Chirp-chirp-chirp-chirp…

The crisp, melodious chirping of the golden eaglets left Jiang He speechless… he kept having the feeling that they were calling him mommy…

"Move aside, don't disturb me!"

Shoving both eaglets aside with a single kick, Jiang He turned towards the bottle gourd vines.

On top of the bottle gourd vines, seven green bottle gourds glinted in emerald dazzle beneath the moonlight beautifully.

Gritting his teeth, Jiang He reached out and grabbed one of the bottle gourds.

There's no stopping it now, it was time for the harvest… Jiang He would have to admit surrender it even if it's another Seven Bottle Gourd Brothers.

[Ding!]

[500 Farm Points.]

A System Notification jingled in Jiang He's head as data about the Seven Bottle Gourd popped up… it was not data per se since there was no introduction of statistics, just a simple line of text: divine-tier bottle gourd.

???

Jiang He was utterly baffled.

Divine-tier bottle gourd?

Could it be the same as the divine-tier fruit, providing a chance of ascension to divine-tier after consumption?

Jiang He hesitated for a while, but when he was about to take a few bites for a taste, several bangs could be heard—the bottle gourd of the Seven Bottle Gourd Brothers which he had kept in a corner had popped out from clouds of mists.

All of them came forward, staring at the bottle gourd Jiang He was holding for a long time before acting adorably, exclaiming in one voice, "We want that, Gramps!"

"Eh?"

Jiang He appeared taken aback. He shook the emerald bottle gourd and could not help asking in return, "You guys want to eat this?"

The brothers nodded heavily.

That left Jiang He laughing out loud…

The Bottle Gourd Brothers eating bottle gourds?

That's the same as having Dumbo eat dog meat, and it just felt a little cannibalistic.

Nonetheless, Jiang He would not stop them since they want to eat it—they were the grandkids he had planted himself after all.

He hence handed the bottle gourd to Eldest Brother, saying, "Let big brother have one first. I want to see if there are side effects after he eats it—the rest of you, wait, there's still more on the vines…"

"Thanks, Gramps!"

Delighted, Eldest Brother accepted the bottle gourd.

He opened his mouth… and swallowed the emerald bottle gourd in its entirety. An oily-green light promptly shone on his body after that, and his rank-seven advanced-pinnacle aura promptly shot up, reaching rank-eight in less than five seconds and climbing.

His aura finally calmed down until he reached rank-nine novice.

However, his belly was suddenly bloating, and the tudou he was wearing was almost tearing apart.

Eldest Brother appeared to be hurting too, and was holding his neck with both hands as his face flushed red.

"Big grandson, are you alright? Did you choke from eating too quickly?"

Jiang He quickly exclaimed, "Hurry, Fifth Brother, shoot your saliva down his throat… woah!"

Even before Jiang He finished his sentence, Eldest Brother had opened his mouth, and…

Swish!

An air blade shot out of his mouth, and struck the Cloudscraper Vine.

The Cloudscraper Vine convulsed in agony, one of its tendrils almost having been sliced off by the air blade.

Jiang He gaped…

What… the heck… was that?

The divine-tier bottle gourd on the bottle gourd vines was indeed a fruit of the daemonic bottle gourd…

Was that why after eating the divine-tier bottle gourd, Eldest Brother gained powers similar to that daemon bottle gourd?

"If that daemon bottle gourd was an imitation of the Immortal-Cutter Flying Dagger, doesn't that mean eldest brother is now an imitation as well?"

Jiang He turned towards the Cloudscraper Vine then…

The plant had actually reached divine-tier.

Its tendrils were much tougher and stronger than ever before, and not even divine-tier martial artists who recently ascended could cut it. That was why the air blade that eldest brother breathed must definitely be divine-tier in power.

"If the Seven Bottle Gourd Brothers all gained that power and breathe air blades simultaneously, wouldn't they be able to cut down a divine-tier elite with a wild barrage of blades?"

Report chapter

Chapter 251: The Saint of the Sky Demon Cult

"Good kid, now breathe another air blade."

Jiang He told Eldest Brother while pointed at his own chest, "Release it here as hard as you can."

After all, attempting to determine the specific strength of the air blade that Eldest Brother breathed by merely watching was not enough—Jiang He felt that he should test it himself.

Hetui!

Eldest Brother opened his mouth and spat out an air blade.

Swish!

The air in the farm shrieked resounding as the blade tore through it, and in the next instant…

Clang!

A ring of clashing metals echoed, and Jiang He felt a dull ache on his chest as the air blade collided upon it, causing a gust that blew on his hair for seconds.

He looked down to find that the jersey he put on was torn apart on the chest area. There was now a red, inflamed blade mark on his elegant, chiseled chest muscles that should not be described excessively.

"Not bad, not bad. The power of the blade reaches the passing mark since it's able to leave a red mark on my chest."

Jiang He nodded, appearing very satisfied about the power of the air blade, remarking, "This air blade is stronger than the one you breathed before, and almost reaches the level of a divine-conversion pinnacle martial artist's single blow. It would hurt me if it was another thirty times… no, forty or fifty times stronger."

'Hurt me' meant slicing apart Jiang He's skin and muscles with a single blade. On the other hand, reaching his tendons and bones would require Void-tier blows.

"That being said…"

Jiang He then slapped Eldest Brother on the head, barking, "I only told you to breathe an air blade—why would you add a sound effect?"

That 'hetui' sounded so much like spitting.

Rubbing his head, Eldest Brother answered unhappily with reddened eyes. "Didn't you tell me to release it as hard as I can? I feel like I can't use my full strength if I didn't do that."

Jiang He did a double take, and could not help chuckling just then…

What, breathing those air blades at maximum output needed those sound effects?

Indeed, Jiang He could not help being amused when he imagined the sight of the Seven Bottle Gourd Brothers standing together, breathing air blades but with that weird sound effect…

[Ding!]

[5,000 Farm Points.]

[Ding!]

[5,000 Farm Points.]

[Ding…]

Jiang He soon plucked out all the remaining bottle gourds and gave one each to the other six Bottle Gourd Brothers. After eating the bottle gourds, all of them acted like Eldest Brother, ascending up to rank-nine after a flash of green light.

Hetui!

Hetui!

The six Bottle Gourd Brothers all breathed air blades to varying effects. While Eldest Brother's air blade was the largest, Second Brother's air blade was very agile while the air blade Third Brother breathed was glinting in golden radiance, which was a little symbolic of his 'body of steel' attribute.

Meanwhile, Fourth Brother's air blade was interweaved with thunder and fire, Fifth Brother's was basically water blade and Sixth Brother's was formless, and could only be detected with spirit. As for Seventh Brother… who was the youngest and did not usually have much of a presence, his air blade was very small, and could hardly be seen if not observed carefully amongst the other air blades.

"Interesting."

"The Seven Bottle Gourd Brothers actually fused their own abilities and attributes into the air blades."

Jiang He nonchalantly exchanged hundreds of nitrogen fertilizer and composite fertilizer and passed it to the seven brothers.

"Eat these fertilizers and reach divine-tier soon. The air blades might become even stronger then."

Jiang He now had over 2.3 million Farm Points, and he did not even blink spending over a hundred thousand to raise the Seven Bottle Gourd Brothers.

In turn, the Seven Bottle Gourd Brothers happily ran off with the hundreds of fertilizers.

After seeing off the Seven Bottle Gourd Brothers, Jiang He turned towards the spot where he planted the Unnamed Sword Array to find that the jasper-colored tree having grown over two meters tall. Its trunk, branches and leaves were all the same hue, and had a flickering luster under the moonlight that made it quite a sight.

And on the tip of the jasper tree branches, seven jade scrolls dangles.

Jiang He walked up and plucked one.

[Ding!]

[10,000 Farm Points.]

He studied the jade scroll closely,

[Sword Array of Seven Stars and Eight Trigrams. Lowest requirement: seven inferior soul weapons (flying swords) to lay out the Seven Stars and Eight Trigrams array…]

After that was the details and instructions about setting up the seven flying swords for that particular array.

"Seven… inferior flying swords?"

Damn it!

Jiang He was rather speechless—what a blunder that was!

All he thought about was creating a Sword Array… he did not expect that setting it up requires multiple mystic flying swords. All he had was the Scarlet Flame Sword, a premium soul weapon.

Where was he supposed to collect the seven flying swords which the Sword Array required?

"Do I plant it?"

"But when it comes to seeds… mystic flying swords needs a fragment or the sword mold for seeds…"

Even as he thought about it, Jiang He reached out to pluck the next jade scroll.

[Ding!]

[10,000 Farm Ponts.]

It was the jade scroll of the First Fold in the Unnamed Sword Array—the Sword Array of Ice and Fire Duality. As he looked closer, he found that setting it up was much simpler than the Sword Array of Seven Stars and Eight Trigrams. Other aspects notwithstanding, this one only needed only two flying swords.

"Still, this one has requirements on the attribute of the flying swords. One flying sword must carry the fire attribute, while the other must carry the water attribute… that said, my Scarlet Flame Sword does have the fire attribute, so all I need to do is get my hands on a water-type flying sword to cast the Sword Array of Ice and Fire Duality."

After that, Jiang He started plucking each of the remaining jade scrolls and carefully studied them.

The Sword Array of Yin-Yang and Three Realms needed three flying swords, whereas the Sword Array of Four Harmonies and Universality needed five.

On the other hand, the Sword Array of Five Elements and Six Pulses required six flying swords—one would take the role of 'main sword' while the other five flying swords must each carry one of the five elements: metal, wood, water, fire, and earth. Energy of the five elements would erupt when the Sword Array was charged, and the sixth 'main sword' would integrate that energy to slay one's opponent.

"And then there is the Sword Array of Ten Realms and Infinity, which requires ten inferior-grade flying swords, which meant at least ten soul weapons… Although the lowest requirement for flying sword is inferior-grade, I certainly have to obtain stronger items that are at least in the level as the Scarlet Flame Sword."

Jiang He mused to himself for quite a while, before whipping out his phone and dialed Wang Hou's number.

Nonetheless, the response was that Wang Hou was 'not within coverage area'. After trying several times but not getting through, Jiang He had to compromise and call Zhou Yu instead.

"Do you have something to ask, Mister Jiang?"

Zhou Yu answered his call at once, chuckling. "Should I visit your house and let's talk face-to-face?"

"You haven't gone back yet?"

Jiang He suddenly remembered that Zhou Yu had come to Lingzhou City to deliver his Orirocks and Sword-Will Barrenwort. But was he not usually busy with public duty? Why would he still hang around in Lingzhou City?

Moreover, how inappropriate would it be to ask Zhou Yu to come to his own house when he was the one asking for Zhou Yu's help?

Hence, Jiang He chuckled. "How could I bother you? How about this—I happen to have some stuff to do at Lingzhou City, so let's meet at Duan Tianhe's office."

"You're being courteous, Mister Jiang. I ought to visit you anyway."

Zhou Yu was utterly reverent, and could not help rising to his feet even from the other end of the call.

Meanwhile, Jiang He had returned to his room, put up new clothes and washed up a little before climbing into his sports car, start the ignition and issued a voice command…

Vroom.

The engine of the sports car purred as it sped in the direction of Lingzhou City.

Lying back on his seat, Jiang He whipped out a bottle of rank-nine Origin Fluid to wet his throat and could not help chuckling. "I'm getting used to flying around lately and rarely drive. It feels a little nostalgic sleeping in the car now."

Well, humans have to learn cherish both painful and joyful moments of the past.

Indeed, Jiang He could not help remembering the days when he used the sports car as his bedroom, which had been a truly grilling period. Moreover, he had to drive the entire 1000km plus distance from Lingzhou City to Jiangnan…

Road conditions were utterly poor and so bumpy that he could not sleep soundly in the car.

Nonetheless, Jiang He soon arrived outside Lingzhou City, and was surprised by the sight of complete high-voltage fences around the outskirts.

They stood over twenty meters tall and surrounds all of Lingzhou City, and there was only a single steel fence gate to the east of the city. Soldiers took shifts to guard it 24/7, and there were also many sturdy military strongholds and various heavy artillery behind the electric fences.

There were also many newly built factories to handle the citizens' daily necessities, as well as providing everyone with a job.

Moreover, farmlands surrounded those factories, some of which were there in the first place while others were sowed after nearby buildings were dismantled… after all, it was too dangerous to farm in the wildlands at the moment, and there would be Ferals roaming from time to time. It was only by keeping the farm near cities that the military and Martial Arts Department (MAD) personnel could quickly come to the rescue if there were any incidents.

Luckily, the Revival of Qi also greatly increased crop yield, and the average citizen did not have to suffer from famine.

Parking his sports car outside the electric fence, Jiang He took in all the sights and could not help feeling emotional…

A soldier stepped out from behind the fence then and approached him with a salute, saying, "Identification please, sir."

Jiang He alighted and offered the soldier a fist-palm salute, returning his greeting as a fellow warrior.

These soldiers had sacrificed much to protect the country in this day and age.

While the media and the citizens complained about Feral Swarms occurring in some place or other and caused casualties, they seemed unaware that many soldiers were losing their lives in the fight against the Ferals almost every day. Their corpses were hardly preserved fully as well, and some were utterly devoured by Ferals.

These soldiers and the many warriors who battled against the Ferals in the wildlands were most deserving of respect.

Now, after checking Jiang He's ID, the soldier opened the steel gate and let Jiang He in. However, as Jiang He drove to the MAD, he found the entire venue shrouded in somberness—it was already 10pm, but many people were still entering or leaving the front doors of the MAD. Some were even bathed in blood, clearly having gone through a serious conflict recently.

Jiang He held back one of the fighters for information.

Only then did he learn that the massive earthquake which the collapse of the heritage site in Mount Dadong caused had sent every Feral there fleeing. These fighters were therefore here to help the military fortify and cull those Ferals.

Soon, Jiang He arrived at Duan Tianhe's office.

Zhou Yu, Duan Tianhe, Cheng Dongfeng, Ji Dongxu, and even Chen Jingzhou was present, and all of them were wearing somber looks.

Cheng Dongfeng was the first to approach Jiang He upon seeing him, and he said gravely, "Something has happened, Jiang He…"

"Minister Wang is wounded!"

Jiang He raised his brows before frowning. "What happened? Old Wang is no small-fry—who could have hurt him?"

The others traded glances while Zhou Yu stepped up.

He told everything about the recent unrests amongst Feral Kings across the Hua Nation, the Shaolin Temple's elite who slayed one of the Feral Kings and drawing a gathering of ten thousand Ferals, as well as Lin Tianzheng's one-man army massacre.

"The Dragoncroc Emperor had indicated that it wished to negotiate with Minister Wang before this to avoid a war between human and Feral eminences," he added. "However, the Dragoncroc Emperor was infuriated after that incident, and Minister Wang, who was on the way to talk to the beast, ended up…"

"Injured, because the talks broke down?"

Jiang He frowned. Injuring Wang Hou just because the talks collapsed?

Was the Dragoncroc Emperor that short-fused?

Nonetheless, Zhou Yu shook his head and said, "The Dragoncroc Emperor had yet to show up. Just when Minister Wang arrived at Shennongjia, he was ambushed… according to him, the one who blindsided him was most likely the Saint of the Sky Demon Cult."

"Oh?"

Jiang He's gaze twitched.

Zhou Yu forced a smile as he continued. "After you inflicted critical losses to the Sky Demon Cult, that Saint who is usually nowhere to be seen must have become anxious… Moreover, the Dragoncroc Emperor is superior to Minister Wang. How could it not know that a Void-tier elite infiltrated its lair?"

Jiang He's voice turned to a growl as he said, "Do you mean to say that the Saint and the Dragoncroc Emperor were in league with each other?"

Zhou Yu nodded.

Jiang He's heart pounded at that!

The Dragoncroc Emperor?

The Saint of the Sky Demon Cult?

"The Sky Demon Cult had always wanted to kill me… as for the Dragoncroc Emperor, after I killed so many Feral Kings, it came to spy on me when I fought the Golden-Winged Roc, and I could vaguely sense a killing intent right then…"

"Perhaps those two were working together to try to kill me?"

Jiang He felt utterly unsettled then!

The Dragoncroc Emperor was stronger than the Golden-Winged Roc and possessed unfathomable power!

As for the Saint of the Sky Demon Cult… according to Yan Dehao, their power was definitely not weak.

"Could I stop them if they combined against me?"

Jiang He thought about it… but it did seem that he could.

Still, it was better to be safe than sorry, since there would always be surprises even if he could hold his own. Why would a person as realist and discreet as himself fool around with his own life?

"No way!

"I, Jiang He, am not the type who sits around and wait for death to come!

"I must fight back!

"I need to kill one of those two in the very least, or… I'm going to lose sleep again!"

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Chapter 252: The Power of the Mung Bean Bullet

The others did not know what Jiang He was thinking. All they could see that his expression alternated from somberness to rage, while his killing intent was gone in a flash, convinced that Jiang He was furious about the Sky Demon Cult's Saint ambushing Wang Hou.

Naturally…

Jiang He was indeed a little furious.

Be that as it may, he could keep his ferocity to himself—putting it to words was unnecessary.

On the other hand, would Wang Hou count as his scapegoat?

He most certainly would.

The saint of the Sky Demon Cult had never made an appearance and rarely appeared. No one actually knew their gender, whether they were tall or short, or fat or skinny…

After all, he had always sent his lackeys to do his bidding.

Even so, over the last month or so, Jiang He had definitely been a little brutal in his massacre of Sky Demon Cultists. Average cultists notwithstanding, Jiang He had killed two of their divine-tier cardinals and both of their sentinels.

Their nine elders were almost wiped out.

Four of their nine Holy Children were killed by Jiang He.

He also culled a lot of their thirty-six Decans that he himself could not remember, but it was definitely upwards of a dozen. That was also why Jiang He was not bothered to count their Fiends, and it was precisely this ruthless massacre of his that the Saint of the Sky Demon Cult would suddenly step up on his own.

Still, he did not quite understand why they would attack Wang Hou instead of settling the score directly against him.

Nonetheless, he collected his thoughts and turned to Zhou Yu, asking, "Is Minister Wang's condition serious?"

"Not really, but he would have to recover in seclusion for half a month."

Zhou Yu replied. "I myself had just received word, and was about to rush back to Jingdu City after meeting you, Mister Jiang."

"Anyway, what do you need, Mister Jiang?"

Zhou Yu asked, and so Jiang He did not hold back and told him about needing rice and wheat.

"Seeds of mutated rice and wheat?"

Zhou Yu murmured at that. "We do have those, Mister Jiang, but I believe the mutation is limited and they hardly count as floral spirits."

"It's fine. Mutated seeds would do."

Beside them, Duan Tianhe chuckled and continued the conversation, "I don't know about mutated wheat, Jiang He, but mutated rice is available here at Lingzhou City. Incidentally, it's time for the harvest in a few days, and our personnel discovered several paddy fields in nearby villages with rice that mutated to some extent. I could have my people deliver 200 catties to you tomorrow if you need them."

Delighted, Jiang He promptly thanked them.

"As for mutated wheat, I'll contact the person in charge of the Martial Arts Department (MAD) in other base cities, and have them keep an eye out." Zhou Yu added—being Wang Hou's assistant and representative as well as a top official at MAD headquarters, he had that authority.

"Many thanks, Deputy Zhou."

Jiang He said in gratitude, before adding, "By the way, could I use the MAD as a platform, Deputy Zhou? I want to post a WTB[1] for flying sword fragments, immortal arts text or torn scripts and the like."

"Of course, you could provide me any information you have about such items. I will buy with high price, or exchange it with gold, Orirock, floral spirits, or invaluable medicine."

Zhou Yu appeared stunned by Jiang He's request, although he was also inwardly hesitating.

Flying sword fragments?

Immortal arts text or torn scripts?

They just might have those in stock.

No, they definitely had those!

Those things were no different from rubbish since they were 'broken', were they not?

Why would Jiang He want them?

Still, there was no way Zhou Yu would not comply when Jiang He had spoken. Smiling, he said, "Don't worry, Mister Jiang. I'll see to it that this gets done."

That was when Ji Dongxu, who had not spoken from the start suddenly came forward and said, "Mister Jiang, I know a person who possesses a broken sword, which might turn out to be the fragment of a flying sword. That person is connected to my clan—he is a rank-six martial artist who opened a dojo at Xi'an City."

"Oh?"

Jiang He's interest was piqued.

Ji Dongxu was an heir to a clan from the Old Martial Era and possessed extensive knowledge, and was very trustworthy in that respect.

After some discussion, Jiang He had Ji Dongxu link him up with that person right away, which the latter agreed to with pleasure.

Zhou Yu was about to leave when Jiang He said, "Why don't you come with us, Deputy Zhou? We'll head to Jingdu City once we've settled negotiations with Ji Dongxu's contact. Minister Wang got hurt somewhat because of me even if it was not entirely because of me, so I should visit him."

"Alright!"

Zhou Yu nodded, while Duan Tianhe stood up, ready to arrange for transport.

"No need."

Jiang He smiled. "The road ahead is quite bumpy—how long would it take for us to reach? I'll fly there with Grandmaster Ji and Deputy Zhou instead."

"By the way, Commander Chen…"

Jiang He remembered a certain matter just before he left, and took out a mung bean bullet with a flip of his hand, asking, "Look at this bullet, Commander Chen. Which sniper rifle bullet would this fit?"

Chen Jingzhou took the bean and studied it, and could not help becoming curious at the oily-green object.

He pinched it twice and found it quite elastic, before holding it in front of his nose for a sniff. "Mister Jiang," he exclaimed in surprise, "Why does this bullet smell like a mung bean?"

What nonsense was that?

What should the bung bean bullet smell like instead, a banana?

Of course, it was too astonishing to reveal the truth here, so Jiang He smiled. "I was idling, so I fashioned a batch of bullets out of some mung beans… but don't underestimate my mung bean bullets, it's both devastating and very eco-friendly…"

Although Chen Jingzhou had no idea how Jiang He had fashioned bullets out of mung beans…

But…

Are you talking to me about power?

This bullet was so soft to the touch that it would burn itself out from the rapid flight before reaching its target… No, it might not even make it out of the barrel, and blow up in the instant that the trigger was pulled.

Holding back his laughter, Chen Jingzhou said, "This bullet should be a 7.62mm caliber, which fits most sniper rifles including the Type-88, the standard-issue sniper rifle for our nation's military."

"I'll have someone bring two of those here if you need them, Mister Jiang. The squads stationed outside the city have them."

On the other hand, Jiang He was frowning.

'You might look serious with your introduction, Chen Jingzhou, but what is with that barely held-back laughter?'

Nonetheless, he nodded and said, "Sorry for the trouble, Commander Chen."

The group went downstairs, and a soldier driving a military vehicle brought Chen Jingzhou a Type-88 sniper rifle in minutes. Pulling the bolt handle to kick out the bullet, he introduced, "This Type-88 sniper rifle is a speciality of the Hua Nation, and is first-rate across the globe in both stability and precision. It has two calibers: 5.8mm and 7.62mm—this one is the 7.62mm, weighing 5.8k, having a barrel of 62 cm out of its 102cm total length, while its load limit is 10 bullets and its effective range is 900m."

Loading another bullet, Chen Jingzhou abruptly raised the rifle and pulled the trigger, firing without a single look.

Bang!

A streetlight 200 meters away blew up.

Being a pinnacle rank-nine martial artist with strong spirit, he had locked on to that streetlight even before firing even though he appeared not to have aimed.

Naturally, that fact did not escape Jiang He, who sneered inwardly.

This old dog Chen Jingzhou. Putting on airs in front of me?

Taking the Type-88 sniper rifle, Jiang He measured it for a bit and smiled. "This is the first time I've touched this stuff… by the way, how do I load bullets, Commander Chen?"

After Chen Jingzhou gave him a walkthrough and Jiang He loaded the mung bean bullet, Jiang He smiled again, "It's my first time so I don't know how to aim. Don't laugh at me if I suck."

Jiang He then aimed at a wall of the MAD.

It was around 400 meters away, and the nearest building was 800 meters away.

He actually wanted to aim at the building but was afraid of blowing up the entire building with a single bullet—better be safe than sorry.

Meanwhile, Chen Jingzhou was staring at Jiang He and subtly shaking his head.

How could mung beans be used for bullets?

Still, he had nothing to say if this was how Jiang He wanted to play it.

In the next instant.

Click!

Jiang He pulled a trigger.

Under the moonlight, the mung bean bullet glinted in crystalline emerald radiance like a green firefly, shooting out at a high velocity to hit the wall 400 meters away with a bang.

With a dull boom, the wall that the mung bean bullet struck instantly split open with a burst of violent flame and shockwave. The green belt and trees near the wall were instantly destroyed, and the glass windows of every building up to 800 meters away shattered.

What the hell!

There was no telling who cried out, but Duan Tianhe, Cheng Dongfeng, Zhou Yu, Chen Jingzhou, and Ji Dongxu all took a few steps back from the violent shockwave, and was forced to charge their True Qi to stop the blow.

Jiang He's mouth hung open as he stared at the shattered glass from the wrecked MAD building, and promptly pulled both Ji Dongxu and Zhou Yu to the air with a gust of True Qi while smiling awkwardly. "Sorry about that, Chief Duan. I didn't know a bullet I cooked up had that much power…"

Time to go…

Whoosh!

With those two in tow, Jiang He turned into a flash of thunder and vanished from the horizon, his voice still resonating beside the ears of Duan Tianhe, Cheng Dongfeng and Chen Jingzhou.

Chen Jingzhou: "…"

He stared at the wall that was blown into rubble for a long while, almost forgetting to breathe.

What the hell.

Was he imagining things?

A bullet fashioned from a mung bean could actually explode?!

[1] want to buy

Chapter 253: Want Some Sunflower Seeds to Munch On?

Jiang He felt quite embarrassed. He was just testing the power of his mung bean bullets, and certainly had not expected that he almost blew up the entire Martial Arts Department (MAD).

His spirit swept out before he left.

There was now an eighty-meter-wide crater that was not too deep where the wall had been. All that was destroyed were greenbelts and the windows of some buildings… that's not too serious, was it?

"As long as no one is hurt. I'll hand Duan Tianhe several dozen million for repairs later—either way, money is just a number to me now, and toilet paper is more useful to me sometimes."

Jiang He thought then.

Meanwhile, Ji Dongxu and Zhou Yu—rank-nine elites in their own right were trading blank glances, after having been lifted to the air by Jiang He with True Qi, and only came to their senses after a while.

Homemade mung bean bullets?

What nonsense was that?

Both of them were rank-nine martial artists who had seen and learned much. What had they never seen?

And yet, this was the first time they had seen bullets fashioned from mung beans.

Most importantly, wasn't that bullet too powerful?

No, it couldn't even be called a bullet now. Not even rocket launchers were that powerful, were they?

Even so, their shock was momentary—the mung bean bullets might be powerful, but it was no threat to rank-nine martial artists. They would be fine if they stood still and not moved if they charged their True Qi guard.

Of course…

They were not aware that the mung bean bullets ignored defense. Judging from the explosion just now, if that bullet reached their bodies, a divine-tier would be blown half to death, let alone a rank-nine.

After flying over 50 kilometers, Jiang He suddenly thought of something and put Ji Dongxu and Zhou Yu on the ground, saying, "Deputy Zhou, Grandmaster Ji, please wait here for a moment. I need to get something from my house."

Whoosh!

Jiang He turned into a thunderbolt and returned to Jinyintan Village.

He called out to Sora and had her go into his farm before retrieving it, and returned to where Ji Dongxu and Zhou Yu were waiting.

Levitating both men with a gust of True Qi again, Jiang He took to the air and flew towards Xi'an City.

Just around 700 kilometers away, that city was not far from Lingzhou City.

Jiang He was not especially in a hurry as he carried both men either, flying at just twice the speed of light and landing outside Xi'an City after around 40 minutes.

Xi'an City—otherwise known as Chang'an was an ancient city with a traditional aesthetic to it. It had been the capital of thirteen dynasties and had been so for the longest time in the Hua Nation's older days, and the Qin Emperor's Tomb was just 35 kilometers away.

Now, Xi'an base city was surrounded by electric fences that covered the whole city as well. After getting their IDs checked at the entrance, Jiang He and the others entered.

Along the way, Ji Dongxu introduced Jiang He to the local specialties and history.

After Ji Dongxu mentioned the Qin Emperor's tomb, Jiang He chuckled. "Back then, that tomb was a tourist spot that drew untold numbers of tourists from overseas, and now it's an abandoned wasteland?"

Ji Dongxu smiled and nodded. "With the Ferals rampaging in the wastelands, it is already very good that humans could protect themselves. Would they have the effort to care for the tomb? That said…"

Suddenly, Ji Dongxu paused and he turned to look in the direction of the Qin Emperor's tomb, quietly saying, "That place is a little mysterious. Following the Revival of Qi, multiple phenomena had manifested multiple times in the skies above the tomb, and elites of my Ji clan found nothing after several trips there… and it seems that even Ferals were afraid to get too close, so the tomb has not been destroyed even now."

Jiang He appeared thoughtful.

Multiple phenomena in the skies above the tomb?

And the elites of the Ji clan had searched it multiple times without getting anything… but was that true?

When he was flying to Xi'an City, Jiang He vaguely sensed that there were elites standing guard nearby the tomb, and more than one at that—there must have been three divine-tiers, and judging from the aura of one, their cultivation was identical to Ji Dongxu's, making it likely that they were Ji clan elites.

If you people really didn't find anything, why would Ji clan elites be standing guard over the Qin Shihuang's tomb?

Of course, there was a chance that Ji Dongxu was not aware.

It was now 11 pm.

Ji Dongxu took out his phone and dialed a number, and another call came five minutes later. After several exchanges, he hung up and smiled. "Mister Jiang, I've reached him—he lives at his dojo.

"I've already booked a cab, so please wait for a while, Mister Jiang, Deputy Zhou."

After several minutes, a Bentley slowly pulled up beside the trio.

The driver was a man wearing a suit from Ji Industries. He bowed respectfully to Ji Dongxu, and appeared not to know him aside from his high rank.

Naturally, there was no way Ji Dongxu would introduce a driver to Jiang He and Zhou Yu.

Opening the car doors, he invited both Jiang He and Zhou Yu onboard while he rode shotgun, "Jingwu Dojo, please."

The driver replied a respectful affirmative and quickly started the car.

Jiang He's gaze shifted from the backseat.

Jing Wu dojo?

That lass who told him about a Doom Shroom growing at her house's farm seemed to be from that place as well, was she not?

What a coincidence, he could have her lead the way to get the Doom Shroom.

Soon, they arrived.

A middle-aged man wearing training roes was waiting at the entrance, and promptly approached once the Bentley stopped, calling out, "Welcome, second granduncle."

It turns out that the dojo owner was Ji Dongxu's relative—his younger sister had married the dojo owner's grandfather, though they were not exactly close. After all, the Ji clan had a long history as well as widespread business and familial relations. In fact, that sister of Ji Dongxu only shared a grandfather after tracing back their ancestry over four generations before.

Ji Dongxu then introduced them to the dojo owner whose name was Wang Jingwu, who was a lesser martial clan that existed over a hundred years ago, and Wang Jingwu himself incidentally cultivated a martial art passed down in the family.

Thanks to his connection with the Ji clan, the dojo owner appeared to have an easy time. His dojo was three-floored and quite huge: the first floor, which was over two thousand square meters was where trainees sparred and trained. There were weapons and protective equipment kept on the walls, but no one in sight was training since it was already late at night.

Half of the second floor was a training ground, the other being a guest room.

Ji Dongxu introduced Wang Jingwu to Jiang He and Zhou Yu as well, and though he did not know who Jiang He was, how could he not know the famous Deputy Zhou?

Moreover, when he noticed how respectful Deputy Zhou was of Jiang He as if he were a grandfather, he became rather nervous even as he conversed with Jiang He, with his replies so careful that he was almost stuttering.

Jiang He chuckled, "No need to be nervous, Dojo Master Wang. I've actually come today to discuss a deal with you."

"A deal?"

Wang Jingwu appeared baffled, and turned to Ji Dongxu with a confused look.

A big shot such as him… what deal would he need to discuss with someone like him, who is not even a martial arts grandmaster?

Ji Dongxu told Wang Jingwu about everything, and Wang Jingwu's eyes lit up after some thought. "There is a broken sword in my house which I picked up from a collapsed slope. My grandfather told me at the time that the craftsmanship was immaculate and might be an ancient weapon, which is why he kept it. It must be placed together with my grandfather's keepsakes."

"Wait a moment, Mister Jiang. I'll fetch it for you right now."

Wang Jingwu left for a while, and returned around ten minutes later with an old wooden chest.

There was a rather rusted broken sword within.

With two-thirds of it missing, the sword was only left with a hilt and a foot-long edge. Jiang He took it and scanned it with his spirit but found nothing special, although when he looked closely, he found that there was ancient scripts inscribed upon it, which was present on the Scarlet Flame Sword as well.

That was enough for Jiang He to determine that the broken sword was indeed a flying sword.

There were also two more words marked on the hilt, but those were written in tadpole script which Jiang He could not identify.

Wang Jingwu then said, "My grandfather had asked for a specialist's analysis on those text before, Mister Jiang, and it probably meant 'Autumn Water'. If you need it, you may have it."

"How could I take your grandfather's keepsake for nothing?"

Jiang He smiled while giving Wang Jingwu a look. "You are rank-six pinnacle and on the cusp of rank-seven, but your spirit and qi cultivation are rather average and lacking. So, I'll help you reach rank-seven as reward for this sword."

Delighted, Wang Jingwu quickly thanked him—even Ji Dongxu and Zhou Yu were interested in seeing how Jiang He would reach rank-seven.

There were many treasures in the world that could help martial artists ascend from rank-six up to rank-seven, but it remained that the most difficult part about reaching rank-seven from rank-six was the improvement in spirit.

Though there were some floral spirits that improve spirit, each of those were rare and expensive, and not even available when you owned mines.

And then…

They saw Jiang He took out a pinch of sunflower seeds.

Wang Jingwu: "???"

Even Ji Dongxu was rather baffled. What is it with those sunflower seeds?

Only one purple-golden sunflower had been found so far, and the MAD ending up sharing it with the Superpower Research Department.

That was why it made sense if Ji Dongxu had neither seen nor heard of it, but Zhou Yu was somehow astonished as well. "The purple-golden sunflower seeds?"

Jiang He had indeed got some purple-golden sunflower seeds from the MAD, and Zhou Yu also happened to know that he obtained some from the Superpower Research Department as well, meaning that he had over twenty…

But wasn't there more than sixty, even seventy here?

Nonetheless, Jiang He chuckled. "Dojo Master Wang, these purple-golden sunflower seeds improve spirit. Have some and see how your spirit grows, and I still have more if this isn't enough."

Even as he spoke, Jiang He whipped out another pinch and munched on them loudly. When he saw Ji Dongxu and Zhou Yu staring at himself with wide eyes, he promptly handed them some as well, smiling, "Grandmaster Ji, Deputy Zhou, want some?"

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Chapter 254: Reaping Doom Shrooms

Both Ji Dongxu and Zhou Yu were having mixed feelings. Nonetheless, they each took a sunflower seed to munch on, and found that there was trace improvement in spirit.

The improvement was fractional, but if one sunflower seed was that good, the improvement would be sizeable after they finished a handful.

"Could you have found more purple-gold sunflowers, Mister Jiang?" Zhou Yu asked uncertainly.

Jiang He smiled but said nothing.

If he mentioned that he planted them, that would probably startle both Zhou Yu and Ji Dongxu. After all, Mu Wanqiu did mention that the Superpower Research Department had tried replanting floral spirits but never once succeeded—meaning that those stuff cannot be obtained through farming, but through the mutation and evolving within certain unique environments.

'You guys could guess on your own for whether I've found purple-gold sunflowers. I am not bothered to answer, so bear with it even if your curiosity is killing you.'

Nearby, Wang Jingwu appeared flustered.

After realizing how wonderful the purple-gold sunflower seeds were, he smiled."Still not thanking Mister Jiang?"

Wang Jingwu quickly said his thanks, and carefully grabbed a handful of the sunflower seeds from Jiang He to munch on in a corner. He could feel his spirit growing even as he munched away, and his eyes immediately went red with an impulse to cry.

To think that he would have a shot at reaching grandmaster too!

His grandfather, father, and even great-grandfather had strived for that goal for their entire lives without succeeding, and yet he could achieve it today?

Even though such an ascension was a little weird…

Wang Jingwu then looked up to sneak a peek at Jiang He, only to find him chatting with Ji Dongxu and Zhou Yu while munching on the sunflower seeds as well, and suddenly thought that it was ridiculous.

That's…

Were those sunflower seeds real?

Still, his improved spirit was no lie. Even Ji Dongxu and Zhou Yu were baffled, let alone him.

Chatting while munching such precious stuff?

They wanted to put away the purple-gold sunflower seeds as well, but were embarrassed to do so in front of Jiang He, and so munched on it like Jiang He…

Others aside, the purple-gold sunflower seeds were really tasty. Most importantly, it had a five-spices taste to it since Jiang He had fried it.

Nonetheless, Wang Jingwu had yet to ascend even by the time they finished the sunflower seeds.

Jiang He gave him a look and said, "Your spirit is sufficient and your cultivation too, but it seems that your cultivation technique is lacking, which is why your physique and True Qi is just a little short."

Bringing out a bottle of mineral water and passing it to Wang Jingwu, he said, "Have some."

Wang Jingwu did a double take.

Is that mineral water… a treasure as well?

He walked up and opened the bottlecap, and a thick fragrant aroma immediately filled the room.

Both Ji Dongxu and Zhou Yu reacted at once, unable to hold back from exclaiming, "Origin Fluid?"

"Yeah."

Jiang He said earnestly. "It's rank-nine and was given to me by the willow tree of Mount Helan, and it improves physique and cultivation a lot… have some, Dojo Master Wang."

O-Origin Fluid?

And rank-nine at that?

Wang Jingwu knew about the Origin Fluid, as well as the starting price of a single drop of it at rank-nine was upwards of five hundred thousand.

So… how much was that bottle worth?

He was actually reluctant to drink it.

"For grandmaster-tier!"

Gritting his teeth, Wang Jingwu picked up the bottle and chugged it, glugging and finishing the whole bottle in one go.

In the next instant.

Boom!

Rank-seven aura burst away from his body, and Wang Jingwu quickly sat down cross-legged in meditation, circulating his True Qi and conditioning his spirit to cultivate.

After half an hour, he stabilized his cultivation. Rising to his feet and walking up to Jiang He, he offered Jiang He a fist-palm salute and bow, saying reverently, "Many thanks, Mister Jiang."

Jiang He waved him off and chuckle, "It's a fair trade, don't mention it."

Wang Jingwu did not think that way, however, and bowed towards Jiang He as well.

From his perspective, even though that broken sword was once a treasure, it was not worth a dime now, and would have been thrown away if his grandfather had not kept it all those years before. On the other hand, which of the purple-gold sunflower seeds or the Origin Fluid that Jiang He brought out was not precious?

He had received the better end of the deal, and greatly so!

In truth, Jiang He had thought so too.

A pinch of sunflower seeds and some mineral water in exchange for a flying sword, it really was a bleeding profit…

After all, that rank-nine Origin Fluid was no different from mineral water to Jiang He as he was now.

Later, Wang Jingwu tried to treat Jiang He to a meal, but Jiang He turned him down, saying, "I still have other matters to attend to, so I'll take a rain check for now. Next time, then—I'll bother you the next time I come by, Dojo Master Wang… by the way, is there someone named Zhou Xiaolan in your dojo?"

"Zhou Xiaolan?"

There were over two hundred apprentices in the dojo, so there was no way Wang Jingwu know them all, with a handful of his personal disciples instructing most. Nonetheless, there was a roster in the dojo, and Wang Jingwu managed to get Zhou Xiaolan's address and number from it.

Even if it was one in the morning, would Zhou Xiaolan dare to dally when Wang Jingwu called personally?

She soon arrived at the dojo, and was astonished to find Wang Jingwu waiting outside the dojo, and he even told her, "I don't know how you made Mister Jiang's acquaintance, Zhou Xiaolan, but you mustn't get on his bad side when you meet him…"

Zhou Xiaolan was completely confused… Mister Jiang, who?

Nonetheless, she followed Wang Jingwu upstairs where he introduced everyone.

Jiang He studied Zhou Xiaolan then—she was around twenty and looked quite cute, although she was on the short side at one point six meters… that said, her figure was not bad at all, and even felt a little childish.

She's huge…

The smacking sounds Jiang He heard from across the phone yesterday must have been completely natural.

Shelving those thoughts, Jiang He smiled. "We've spoken to each other over the phone yesterday, Miss Zhou."

"Oh…"

Zhou Xiaolan came to a realization, and exclaimed as he pointed at Jiang He, "You were the one asking about the mushrooms?"

Jiang He nodded and said, "Let's not dally, Miss Zhou. Take me to the mushrooms, and I'll reward you after we get it."

Zhou Xiaolan appeared rather worried at that, and glanced at Wang Jingwu. It was only after a subtle glance from the dojo owner that she said, "Mister Jiang, it's late and my old home was over seventy kilometers away from Xi'an City. It's in front of a mountain prowling with Ferals, and it's very dangerous…"

"It's fine, just point the way."

Jiang He rose to his feet and headed downstairs.

Ji Dongxu and Zhou Yu followed.

Zhou Xiaolan appeared apprehensive and quietly said, "Dojo master…. Who is that person? Could he hold a grudge against me, taking me out in the middle of the night?"

Wang Jingwu gave her a chop on the head and barked through gritted teeth, "What are you thinking in that young brain of yours? It's a good fortune your ancestors accrued if Mister Jiang has a grudge against you."

Zhou Xiaolan was rather upset at that.

Why was Master Wang scolding her?

Nonetheless, Wang Jingwu continued, "I was graced by Mister Jiang to reach rank-seven. Weren't you always dreaming about awakening? Mister Jiang could help you out."

"Go on and help Mister Jiang find his stuff, and I'll take you as a personal disciple when you get back."

Delighted, Zhou Xiaolan quickly caught up with the others.

Arriving outside, Jiang He told Ji Dongxu and Zhou Yu, "Deputy Zhou, Grandmaster Ji, please wait for a moment. I'll get my stuff right away."

He reached out with a grabbing motion, and True Qi gusted around Zhou Xiaolan, levitating her.

Zhou Xiaolan was at once baffled.

They…

They were flying?

Her eyes widened at Jiang He as she exclaimed, "Mister Jiang… are you a legendary divine-tier?"

Jiang He could not help laughing and said, "Divine-tier is divine-tier. What does it have to do with legends? Alright, point me in the direction and we'll get there as soon as possible. I still have stuff to do later."

Composing herself, Zhou Xiaolan pointed the way.

Even as Jiang He turned into a thunderbolt that streaked through the sky, Zhou Xioalan quickly said, "Please fly slower and lower, Mister Jiang, or I can't find my old house…"

After all, it was dark.

Being not even a martial artist, how could Zhou Xiaolan vision be as good as his?

Even so, Jiang He laughed. "No need. I've already found your house."

He had already found the village she was talking about with a scan of his spirit.

Descending from the skies above, he landed at the entrance to a dilapidated village.

From the looks of some of the still undamaged houses, the villagers must have lived in fine conditions. In fact, there were even some small mansions aside from the usual tile houses.

The farmyard in Zhou Xiaolan's house was rather well-preserved too.

In fact, Jiang He was shocked…

The farmyard was larger than the one in his house. It was four whole Mus, and aside from the five large red-tiled houses, there was even a garage with a yard behind it, with six mushroom greenhouses built behind it.

Zhou Xiaolan appeared rather sad as she smiled. "This is where I grew up, like my father and grandfather did. I remembered that we had been poor when I was a child, but my father went overseas later to learn mushroom farming, and started a mushroom farm with the government's support. Life got better for us, and it started a mushroom planting trend in many other farmhouses too

"We even started a mushroom processing plant behind the village, although it's now abandoned."

"Your family was a landowning household too, it seems."

Jiang He teased as he walked towards one of the greenhouses.

He had already picked up the Doom Shroom that Zhou Xiaolan spoke off, which was jampacked with it.

As for the other three greenhouses…

One was already blown up, and there was nothing special in the other two.

In fact, the Doom Shroom was only found that one greenhouse across the entire village, and over a thousand them.

Jiang He walked towards the greenhouse when Zhou Xiaolan quickly exclaimed, "Be careful, Mister Jiang! The mushroom blows up if you get too close."

"It's fine."

Extending his hand with a grabbing motion, Jiang He lifted one of the Doom Shrooms with True Qi just ten meters away from the greenhouse.

Its pitch-black appearance really looked similar to the Doom Shroom in Plant Vs Zombies. Two fiery eyes abruptly appeared on it when it landed in Jiang He's hand, and it expanded as a horrifying aura brewed within it.

After closer sensing, he noticed strange energy inside the mushroom, rapidly colliding and shifting, before…

Boom!

It blew up on Jiang He's hand.

Zhou Xiaolan was shocked, but Jiang He was completely fine, and even said, "It is much more powerful than what you've said. It seems that the mushrooms did not stop evolving over time."

The force of the explosion was not that huge, but that was because Jiang He had suppressed it with True Qi and spirit.

Jiang He estimated that the explosive yield of the Doom Shroom was equal to three mung bean bullets. If he took it home, planted and strengthened it with Mysterious Soil…

"Incidentally, the pea bombs are starting to get a little weak for me and not that useful… this fits right in."

Jiang He had wanted to ask the military for stuff like nuclear bombs to plant, but gave up on the idea considering the excessive radiation, although he did not have to worry about it now that he had the Doom Shrooms.

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Chapter 255: Join Hands, Kill Jiang He!

Jiang He reached out with his hand and grasped, taking another Doom Shroom from a distance.

The Doom Shroom had quite the temper—it expanded once it reached Jiang He's palm, its two tiny red eyes flaming up, keen on exploding.

Jiang He carefully felt the energy surge within, and tried to use his spirit to guide, suppress. With that, the slowly expanding Doom Shroom shrank.

"Interesting."

Jiang He smiled and stuffed the Doom Shroom back into his System Backpack.

Going about it like clockwork, he released his powerful spirit to suppress the many Doom Shrooms, preventing them from exploding. Soon, he had put every Doom Shroom in the mushroom greenhouse in the System Backpack.

With that done, he checked the System Backpack.

A cartoonish icon of the Doom Shroom showed up in the box of the System Backpack, with the number 1380.

"1380 Doom Shrooms… if planted well, they definitely would make a weapon of mass destruction."

Satisfied, Jiang He turned towards Zhou Xiaolan and asked, "You want to awaken?"

Zhou Xiaolan nodded, but then shook her head and quickly said, "I only need you to give me some pointers, Mister Jiang. I won't ask for much."

Jiang He could not help laughing.

He did hear the exchange between her and Wang Jingwu before.

To most, trading pointers for awakening superpowers with giving directions was actually overreaching.

That, however, was not even worth mentioning for Jiang He.

He took out a tomato with a flip of his hand and passed it to Zhou Xiaolan, saying, "I've told you that I would reward you for giving me directions. Here, take this tomato."

Zhou Xiaolan did a double take.

She was rather let down.

'I'm a young maiden who was dragged out of my sweet dreams in the middle of the night to point directions for you. And this is how you thank me?'

She did not actually want anything, but since Wang Jingwu had promised to take her in as a personal disciple, that was already the greatest reward for being tour guide.

But couldn't she at least get a 'thank you'?

Once she recalled Wang Jingwu's instructions, Zhou Xiaolan realized that tall, handsome and imposing youth was not one to be crossed—she promptly accepted the tomato and forced a smile at Jiang He.

Were all big shots so stingy?

Who would want a tomato?!

She'll throw it away once he left!

Nonetheless, Jiang He appeared to see what Zhou Xiaolan was thinking. Keeping his smile, he said, "Eat it."

Zhou Xiaolan: "…"

"Eat it."

Seeing that Jiang He was being quite firm, Zhou Xiaolan forced herself to open her mouth and take a soft bite out of the tomato…

She was resistant to the idea inwardly.

Still, after she actually took a bite…

Bang!

An eruption seemed to spread within her mouth.

That feeling was exceedingly special and thrilling. It was as if she was not eating a tomato but fire, and the sensation of it unfurling within her mouth was something she could not resist.

She hence finished the tomato in a few more bites.

Wiping the corner of her lips with the back of her hand, her eyes lit up as she exclaimed, "Mister Jiang, where did you buy this tomato from… whoosh!"

She suddenly breathed a jet of flames even before she finished.

In the next split second, Zhou Xiaolan cried out in surprise as she dropped to the ground.

Flustered, she was arching her back, her arms wrapped around before her chest as she exclaimed, "It's hot, it burns…"

And then…

Her eyes rolled into her head and she fainted.

Scorching flames ignited over her body, instantly reducing her clothes to ashes.

Jiang He let out a breath then…

Swish…

He blew away the ashes covering Zhou Xiaolan's body and studied it, before breathing a sigh of relief. "Luckily, she awakened those flames so it did not burn her own skin… or a single strand of hair off, for that matter."

"That said, kid hit puberty with a bang—she's smooth as she is round."

Nonetheless, the flames over Zhou Xiaolan's body were still burning, and her skin was getting red… though it actually had an unusual beauty to it.

Jiang He had to restrain himself against his impulse to take a photo for collection purposes since there was nothing covering her body at all. After all, it was art if it was taken with her consent, and breaking the law without.

And being a law-abiding citizen, Jiang He would not do something that would violate the law.

Moreover, Zhou Xiaolan's awakening was continuing even though she was unconscious. Being someone with the experience, Jiang He felt that the martial artist would need at least one hour to awaken since she was not even a martial artist.

After all, the Blazing Tomato was not your average item—she would reach Class A after awakening, and it made sense that the process would take longer.

But after several minutes, Jiang He suddenly felt hungry.

It's already past three and he hadn't had any supper. Why would he not be hungry?

Taking out his grill set, he baked some Blue King Drake meat, munching on sunflower seeds and having a sip of rank-nine Origin Fluid while he did so.

Soon, over an hour passed.

Zhou Xiaolan, buck-naked and still lying on the ground finally woke up, and slowly opened her eyes.

Her eyes looked lost.

Who am I?

Where am I?

I…

Soon, she came to her senses. Her eyes widened in disbelief as she remembered how she fainted, and she slowly extended her fingers…

Snap!

A small fire ignited over her fingertips.

"Aaaaaaah!!!"

Leaping off the ground, Zhou Xiaolan appeared extremely thrilled and screamed in excitement several times, before lunging at Jiang He and exclaiming. "Mister Jiang, I've awakened, I've awakened…"

Jiang He was still holding a skewer…

There was no helping it.

He had to worm a hand from around Zhou Xiaolan and eat off the Blue King Drake's meat. Then, he threw off the steel skewer to free his hand and shove Zhou Xiaolan away, saying, "Miss Zhou, men and women should observe appropriate distances between each other. Please watch yourself."

'What the heck?

'Don't you see that you're not wearing anything?

'And you keep rubbing that pair of humongous things on me—can't you let me eat in peace?'

Finally noticing her blunder, Zhou Xiaolan screamed again.

Speechless, Jiang He took out a set of sporting clothes from his System Backpack and threw it to her, and she ran off behind a turn to change.

It was a sight that left Jiang He amused.

He had already seen what he shouldn't see, and…

'Don't you have time to dress up three times over if you had the time to run there?

'Are you trying to give me a naked run show?'

When she was done changing, Jiang He had finished the last skewers. He put away the grill rack and tools, levitated Zhou Xiaolan with a gust of True Qi and flew back towards Xi'an City.

Up in the skies, Zhou Xiaolan's face was still red.

She could feel the surging fire-type energies in her body, and certainly understood that the tomato Jiang He gave her was extraordinary. Nonetheless, she did not ask since Jiang He was not saying, especially after the awkward scene just now…

After several minutes, Jiang He had reached Xi'an City with her.

Zhou Xiaolan did not follow Jiang He back to Jing Wu dojo, asking instead that Jiang He put her down on a random street.

Jiang He returned to Jing Wu dojo by himself after leaving Zhou Xiaolan. Ji Dongxu told them that supper was prepared and invited both Jiang He and Zhou Yu, but Zhou Yu said, "Perhaps next time, Grandmaster Ji. Minister Wang is recovering and the Martial Arts Department can't go without me and the load of work needed to be done."

Zhou Yu did not dare to mention it since Jiang He had something to do, but was now a little impatient after Jiang He was done, and could not wait to fly back to Jingdu City at once.

Soon, a thunderbolt streaked through the night sky as they flew rapidly towards Jingdu City.

Meanwhile.

Shennongjia.

A figure descended from the skies on the shores of the Dragoncroc Emperor's lake.

They were dressed in black robes with a hood.

They were wearing a mask, and a cloud of dark mists swirls around them, hiding their figure and from identifying their gender.

Splash.

The lake split apart and the Dragoncroc Emperor surfaced, its dark-golden gaze scanning the black figure as it growled, "Go back, Saint. His Majesty has spoken: He won't work with you."

An androgynous but slightly hoarse voice laughed. "Well, His Majesty is reluctant… but what about you and I?"

The Dragoncroc Emperor was about to refuse when a voice spoke beside his ears, and it promptly laughed coolly. "Why should I work with you? Your cult has suffered serious losses—in what way could you collaborate with this emperor?"

"But do you actually know how deep the roots of the Sky Demon Cult go?"

It was ironic.

Everyone in the Sky Demon Cult called themselves disciples of the Holy Faith, and whoever dared to say Sky Demon Cult before them would be given a beating. Even so, the Saint called it the Sky Demon Cult anyway without any feeling of taboo.

What taboo?

Sky Sage Faith?

It was a joke.

Only those ignorant fools could not bear to have the others call them the Sky Demon Cultists and use the word 'demon' on them. That was why they changed everything, and even went so far to rename the 'Sky Demon Arcanum' to 'Sky Sage Arcanum'.

Even the 'Demon Lake' was renamed to 'Holy Lake'.

They had no idea that the extraterrestrial sky demons were simply sky demons and not 'Sky Sages', just as the cultivation method they left behind was the Sky Demon Arcanum and not the 'Sky Sage Arcanum'. Even the 'Sky Demon Cult' was a name set by the sky demon's envoys.

Now, beneath the black robe, a cold voice filled with killing intent spoke, "Dragoncroc Emperor, let's join hands to slay Jiang He. I will award you daemon weapon after we succeed."

A golden glint flashed in the Dragoncroc Emperor's golden pupils then, and it growled, "This emperor shall work with you to kill Jiang He."

"But this emperor has another condition… every spoil belongs to this emperor after Jiang He is killed!"

Laughter echoed from beneath the black robes at that. "As you wish."

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Chapter 256: I'm Quite Experienced in Healing

"When do we act?"

"In three days."

Even as the voice spoke from beneath the black robes, the figure was already retreating into the distance, laughing. "To avoid long nights and excessive dreams, you and I shall work together and kill Jiang He in three days!"

When the Saint of the Sky Demon Cult finally left, a look of confusion flashed in the Dragoncroc Emperor's dark-golden eyes.

Its body then descended beneath its lake again, and after traversing a series of restraining arrays, it slipped beneath an underwater realm.

There were mountains as well as celestial bodies up in the skies, as well as many arches. Further into the distance, many little daemons were playing or diligently cultivating.

And in front of one particular arch, a young blue-clothed youth with scales over his forehead was leaning back on the stairs. Beside him, female daemons with a stunning figure and wearing only thin silk was massaging his shoulders and feeding him fruits or delicacies.

Daemon Qi swirled around the Dragoncroc Emperor's body before he pivoted and transformed into a cold, black-robed middle-aged man, bowing reverently as he greeted, "Your Majesty."

Even so, he was baffled inwardly.

His majesty had kept insisting that the time was not right for him to present himself to the world, and never once interfered with the struggles between humans and Ferals.

And yet, he now asked that he fight Jiang He?

The blue-clothed man waved his hand, and the female daemons all retreated reluctantly.

"Are you wondering why I would have you work with the Sky Demon Cult's Saint, Dragoncroc?"

The Dragoncroc Emperor nodded.

The blue-clothed youth rose, chuckled but did not mention the reason. Instead, he brought out a bronze bell that hovered and swirled over his palm, emanating a faint bronze luster.

With a shove of his hand, the bell floated and stopped in front of the Dragoncroc Emperor, saying, "That kid Jiang He could perhaps have been groomed by those human antiques. Though he made Golden Pellet, he is also a sword cultivator whose strength is not to be underestimated."

"This bell is the Nine Dragon God Fire Shroud, a superior daemonic armament. It binds, it kills, and it belongs to you now."

Delighted, the Dragoncroc Emperor promptly kowtowed in gratitude.

Superior daemonic item was equal to superior soul items, and were extraordinarily rare even in the Era of Qi Refinists.

And now, Dragoncroc Emperor rose to his feet, offering a sacrifice to the Nine Dragon God Fire Shroud on the spot.

Beside him, the blue-clothed youth said, "Jiang He is an unusual brat. I could no longer get a thorough read on him after he weathered the Four Retributions of the Nine Lesser Heavens, and directly completed his Golden Pellet cultivation. He was not displaying outstanding fighting ability in his battle against the Golden-Winged Roc either, but his last move with his sword was incredibly special—it seemed to involve the very mysteries of essence. Even so, he was still Golden Pellet and had yet to reach True Child, and using that move must take a heavy toll upon him."

"Work with the Sky Demon Cult's Saint, and force him to use that move. All of you have to do then is use the Nine Dragon God Fire Shroud, for Golden Pellet sword cultivators would not be able to pierce a superior daemonic armament."

With that, the Dragoncroc Emperor withdrew.

It returned to its lake and sat cross-legged at the bottom, and calmly cultivated an offering to the Shroud.

By chance, it had discovered this underwater 'realm' years ago and obtained a partial daemonic legacy to cultivate with. Though it was not overwhelmingly superior in tiers compared to the Golden-Winged Roc, it was over twice stronger!

Meanwhile.

Jiang He had actually expected that the Dragoncroc Emperor and the Sky Demon Cult's Saint would join hands against himself.

Still…

It was just one of his wild theories, but it was alright as long as he was correct.

Right now, he had already reached Jingdu City. He headed to a supermarket to get some milk and fruits before heading to the Martial Arts Department (MAD) headquarters.

He met the pale-faced Wang Hou in one of the training rooms.

Putting aside the milk and the fruits, Jiang He asked with concern, "Are you alright, Minister Wang?"

Wang Hou appeared rather frail, but he replied, "Nothing major—just a little flesh wound. I'll be fine after recovering for half a month."

Jiang He smiled. "You're slightly lacking physically then, Minister Wang… resting half a month over a little flesh wound?"

Wang Hou scowled at that, and took off his shirt.

There was a piercing wound on his belly—it must have been run through by a sword. Most importantly, traces of black qi were lingering around it, and Wang Hou had to stop its spread by directing his Yuan Qi.

Once martial artists reached the second level of divine-tier: divine-tempest, their True Qi would slowly into Yuan Qi.

Beside them, Zhou Yu's eyes were red and he seethed tearfully, "Damn it. The Sky Demon Cult needs to go."

"What?"

Wang Hou seemed at a loss as he barked, "What are you crying for, Old Zhou?! I'm not dead! Alright, the Saint of the Sky Demon Cult would probably have spread word that I'm injured, and many Feral Kings would seize this chance to cause more trouble given how shaky things were lately. So go inform every person in charge of each city base, and have them work hard on intelligence."

"Also, contact General Li and have every garrison be on alert.

Zhou Yu only left at that.

It was only when he was gone that Wang Hou winced in pain through his teeth.

He accidentally moved his wound when he yelled just now, and it hurt a little.

On the other hand, Jiang He blinked.

That little bit piercing wound…

It's not that serious, was it?

Jiang He himself was often injured, but would he not mostly recover after sleeping?

Perhaps… Wang Hou had hurt his back?

Others aside, there was a good chance his back was hurt given the location of his wound.

Directing his Yuan Qi's flow and recovering for a bit, Wang Hou then said seriously, "Jiang He, I suspect that the Sky Demon Cult's Saint had come to an agreement with the Dragoncroc Emperor. The Saint's appearance also doesn't bode well."

Getting the idea, Jiang He murmured, "The Stargate?"

"That's right."

Upon seeing Wang Hou nod, Jiang He asked with a baffled look, "Minister Wang, what is with the extraterrestrial sky demons? Why would they keep eyeing at a useless place like Earth?"

"And what's up with the Stargate? Isn't that superfluous? They could just come directly if they want to conquer us."

Wang Hou forced a laugh. "Earth would have already been conquered if that's true. According to the Five Holy Grounds, there is some sort of barrier beyond Earth that stops them. Any extraterrestrial race intent on coming inside must destroy that barrier, and since they could not break it in its entirety, they could only open a passage upon it."

"As for the sky demons…"

"They are a powerful race in the galaxy, and there are countless such races beyond our skies."

Wang Hou's gaze shifted as he growled, "They wanted to invade Earth perhaps because certain secrets exist here. I've discovered some signs in a heritage site, but was unsure about the specifics."

Jiang He appeared thoughtful.

So…

Did his world view expand again?

He had first believed this world to be a low martial word, but was soon surprised to find it a high martial world, which soon progressed towards a world of immortals…

And now, it was turning into a space opera? With spacefaring races popping up?

"Hold on, it's not space opera since that refers to wars between races with superior technology. This should be space immortals…"

"Actually, that's not quite right either. With so many things fusing, it might be high fantasy…"

Meanwhile, as Jiang He stayed silent, Wang Hou continued, "Jiang He, if the sky demons really did open the Stargate, and it really was near Lingzhou City like it was reported before, the Sky Demon Cult would definitely still attempt to take Lingzhou City…"

"And to do that, the Sky Demon Cult's Saint and the Dragoncroc Emperor would target you first after having coming to an agreement. I'm hurt at the moment and couldn't fight at the peak of my powers at the moment, but Three Blades Lin's grandfather is back, and I'll have him go to Lingzhou City in secret to back you up."

Returning to his senses from his messy thoughts, Jiang He laughed. "No need to go through the trouble, Minister Wang. I've already expected everything, and thought of a solution."

Wang Hou was shocked.

You…

Expected it?

Even if you did, how are you going to foil the Saint and the Dragoncroc Emperor's murder plot?

He was about to ask when he saw Jiang He wave his hand, bringing out a…

First-aid kit with a pink cover and cartoon pictures.

Jiang He searched the box as he continued, "Anyway, I'm quite experienced in healing, Minister Wang. Actually, your injury isn't that serious, and you just have to slap a band-aid on it…"

As Wang Hou gaped, Jiang He took out two pieces of… super-large band-aid, and stuck one in front and one behind Wang Hou's wound.

After that was done, Jiang He frowned and said, "If I'm not mistaken, the black qi on your wounds must be Demonic Qi left by the Sky Demon Arcanum, was it not? It's all so black and disgusting, and might even cause infection and affecting recovery."

"So, I'll prescribe you some Amoxicillin capsules as well…"

Wang Hou: "…"

Chapter 257: Unserious Immortal Physique Cultivation

In truth, Wang Hou was inwardly resistant to the idea of Amoxicillin capsules.

After all, he knew his own injury better than anyone.

It was no big deal for a Void-tier elite to have a hole in his belly, but the problem was the Sword Will and Demonic Qi that the Sky Demon Cult's Saint left upon his wounds. Even so, he just had to remain in confinement to recover around ten days to half a month and grind that off with his own Yuan Qi.

Hence, he stammered for quite a while, simply unwilling to take the medicine.

Jiang He lifted a brow at that, and asked, "Could you be afraid of taking medicine, Minister Wang?"

Wang Hou sneered inwardly. Are you goading me now?

Sure, that works on children, but what use was that against him?

"Jiang He, I really can't take that medicine. Moreover, the Amoxicillin capsule is anti-inflammatory, which helps with easing nose infection… Eh?"

Wang Hou's expression changed before he finished.

He could clearly feel that beneath the band-aid that was so huge it almost looked like a certain necessity for women, his wounds were rapidly healing.

Soon…

Wang Hou took off one of the band-aids, and the once-gruesome wound had already healed, leaving not even the faintest of scars.

He was baffled.

As he lifted his gaze to Jiang He, there was a blank look on his face.

But in the very next instant…

Pop!

The wound that healed just now split apart again.

"Well now…" Jiang He shook his head and scolded. "How old are you, Minister Wang? Still grumbling and complaining like a three-year-old just over medicine?"

"Look, the Sword Qi and Demonic Qi on your body have yet to fade, and only your wounds are healed. Now, healing the symptoms and not the cause blew up the wound that just recovered, no thanks to that burst of Sword Qi."

Jiang He hence took out two Amoxicillin capsules and handed them to Wang Hou.

Wang Hou accepted the capsules stiffly, rearing his head and ate them.

Though he wanted to remind Wang Hou to wash the capsules down with warm water, Jiang He decided to say nothing. It was normal—some people were born having a hard time swallowing pills, while others like Wang Hou did not even need water to wash it down.

With that, Jiang He picked up the band-aid Wang Hou tore off and stick it on Wang Hou again, before saying, "Alright, Minister Wang, it's almost sunrise. Take your time to recover—I'm off to get a place to sleep."

"There are guest rooms here in the Martial Arts Department (MAD)," Wang Hou offered then. "I'll have Deputy Zhou make the arrangements."

"No need, no need. There's a hotel outside, I could just get a room."

Leaving the MAD, Jiang He got a room in a hotel, and bathed first right after he arrived at his room.

Then, he lay on his bed, but had a hard time going to sleep.

Outside, the colors of the night were slowly fading, and the sun was already rising, but Jiang He still felt no drowsiness at all.

Sitting up on his bed, he laughed begrudgingly.

"Old habits die hard. I don't feel sleepy at all even though I didn't sleep for an entire night."

"I must be worried subconsciously that the Saint of the Sky Demon Cult and the Dragoncroc Emperor are plotting to kill me, which degrades my sleep."

Sitting on the edge of his bed, Jiang He's expression turned somber.

That was such a serious problem!

And it must be resolved as soon as possible, or every night would end up like this. In time, the Saint of the Sky Demon Cult and the Dragoncroc Emperor would not even have to do a thing to leave him with sleepless nights and constant paranoia, wearing out his spirit soon enough.

"The most direct and simplest measure to break the pact between the Saint of the Sky Demon Cult and the Dragoncroc Emperor is to kill them all… even so, my ability is limited, and as I am right now, I could kill one of them at best!"

Jiang He decided to make an effort to improve his ability.

He turned towards his System Panel.

[Name: Jiang He]

[Cultivation: Immortal Path—complete Golden Pellet; Martial Arts—divine-tier (divine conversion)]

[Ability: Royal Sword, fire]

[Martial Arts Cultivation: Indestructible Diamond (Mastery), Eighteen Dragon Subduing Palms (Mastery), Blind Princess's Eight Practices (Third Practice), Strengthened Nine Yang Technique (Eighth Tier), Ninefold Thunderblade (Seventh Fold), Dragon-Elephant Prajna (Fifteenth Tier), Nine Stars Heavenly Body Formula (Second Tier), Three Thousand Calamities (Second Style), Twenty-Three Swords (First Style)]

[Owned Land: 9 Mu]

[Farm Level: 5 (EXP 15000/500000)]

[System Backpack: 24 boxes]

[System Shop: Unlocked]

[Farm Points: 2,400,000]

After his farm reached level 5, the System Backpack had expanded from 18 boxes to 24 boxes and his farm area increased from 3 Mu to 9Mu. Even so, the EXP needed to reach the next level was rather outrageous, since it shot up directly from fifty thousand to five hundred thousand.

After grumbling for a bit, Jiang He turned towards [Farm Points].

2.4 million Farm Points were not scarce, but it was not a lot either.

Nonetheless, the second style of the Three Thousand Calamities cost him five hundred thousand Farm Points to level, and as for the third style…

Jiang He tested things out, and found out that he needed 5 million Farm Points for that, which meant ten-times the increase in cost. Still, he decided that it made sense after some thought…

After all, cultivation gets harder the more one progressed.

Furthermore, once he reached the Third Style of Three Thousand Calamities, he would promptly ascend as a complete True Child cultivator, which meant that his combat ability would improve beyond ten times. Was it not reasonable that the Farm Points cost increased by ten times?

Hence, Jiang He had to turn towards the Nine Stars Heavenly Body Formula.

To tell the truth, being a sword cultivator, Jiang He preferred cultivating various sword techniques and sword arrays…

"Still, physical improvement has its perks too."

"If I cultivated up to the Third Tier of the Nine Stars Heavenly Body Formula, my physical durability and strength would increase greatly, and pummel a Void-tier like Wang Hou to death with only physical power. I could also stand still and let Wang Hou attack me however he liked, and he would still fail to harm me."

Helpless, Jiang He could only convince himself with that reasoning.

[Ding!]

[-2,000,000 Farm Points.]

[Congratulations, Host! You have Mastery over the Third Tier of the Nine Stars Heavenly Body Formula.]

Boom!

The sound of a tsunami echoed within Jiang He's body.

Bang!

His heart pounded like thunder.

Jiang He's muscles, bones, skin, internal organs, and even… certain parts were rapidly metamorphizing and strengthening, though he could not help scowling worriedly.

"Isn't the Nine Stars Heavenly Body Formula a little unserious?"

"I'm already very strong in that respect, and If I get any stronger… I would probably have to get over a dozen wives."

Oh!

Jiang He breathed a long sigh and grumbled a little, but soon conveyed great understanding.

In the end, the Nine Stars Heavenly Body Formula was an immortal physique cultivation that improved every aspect of the body. If that part was not strengthened, would it not become a weak point?

It was a very common plot in martial art movies: A final boss who underwent stress training to become physically peerless and impervious to all weapons would be making the main characters, minor characters and other heroes of justice crying for their daddy… until eventually the female protagonist suddenly dies and the main character unleashes his potential, striking the boss in his 'weak point' and thus gaining victory…

And Jiang He did not want such a nonsensical plot happening to himself.

"Right now, my physique could match True Child-tier cultivators, but that is far from enough…"

Jiang He then entered his farm, and took out the Autumn Water Sword as well as a dozen Doom Shrooms.

He knew very well that the Saint of the Sky Demon Cult would be a tough cookie.

That buster's ability would definitely be superior to Wang Hou, just as they were very mysterious and possess certain unknown moves. Likewise, the Dragoncroc Emperor was no weakling, and according to Wang Hou's theory, it might have some 'old antique' daemon backing it.

It might have gained daemonic cultivation too.

That was why Jiang He could not afford to be careless, and must improve his combat ability to the maximum potential available to him right now!

"If my hunch is right, the Autumn Water Sword must be a flying sword with the water attribute, although there is no telling what grade it is… And once I successfully plant it, I could cultivate the Ice and Fire Duality Sword Array."

"As for the Doom Shrooms…"

"Those could be used as an AoE attack, since Three Thousand Calamities is my only AoE attack at the moment and rather lacking."

Of course…

Could he really use the Doom Shrooms as an AoE attack after strengthening it?

After all, what use was it when its explosive yield was merely several thousand tons?

It would not even match a casual punch of his.

Shouldn't it at least have a few hundred-thousand-ton yield to be deserving of its name, Doom Shroom?

Report chapter

Chapter 258:

Five Hundred Thousand Yield Doom Shroom

"Master!"

Sora came to greet him.

Behind her, Dumbo, Trumbo, the Seven Bottle Gourd Brothers and the two golden eaglets all came to him.

Jiang He arrived at a corner of the farm and carved out an area of the ground, saying, "Flatten this spot, guys. We'll build a mansion here soon, and might have to stay in the farm often in the future."

"Don't worry, master! I'll see to that!"

Directing its earth-type powers, Dumbo flattened the ground Jiang He drew out. Then, seemingly finding that it had not done a good job, it ran off to speak to the Cloudscraper Vine, which lifted the dog up into the air while it slammed several Ucchusma Stonebreaker Palm down on the ground.

"You're quite smart, dog."

Jiang He could not help chuckling.

He then took out a capsule and threw it on the even ground.

Bang!

After the dust settled down, a Chinese-style mansion appeared in a corner of the farm. It seemed to poke up like a sore thumb, however, and it did not feel like the farm life Jiang He had imagined.

"Needs a little decoration."

Jiang He mused to himself for a moment as a thought occurred to him.

He should make a fence around the mansion.

Still, he had the materails for it.

The stems of the purple-gold sunflowers that were left after farming them was kept in the farm itself, and after some craftwork, it would be very suitable for a fence.

"I'll also add in a bamboo arch after I finished the fence and plant various flowers around the fences. I could also plant a small tree at the small yard, put in a cane chair beneath the tree as well as a stone table and bench beside it. After that, planting some fruits and vegetables in a corner of the yard would make it perfect."

"After the farm is expanded, we could make a garden outside the yard, get a fake mountain, dig out an artificial lake and put in some fishes and prawns, build a pergola… When I'm free, I'll go fishing with some ladies, play grab the eel and the like. How perfect would that be?"

He told Sora about his idea at that.

When Dumbo heard it, he promptly started bootlicking. "Good idea, master! Our house would be so beautiful if we could do that!"

"And why aren't you going to work if it's beautiful?'

Jiang He shot the dog a glare.

With that, Dumbo quickly called out to Trumbo and they went to work.

At present, the dog and the cat's ability were not work.

With one wielding a sword and the other a blade, they cut off the many sunflower stalks in three… but they used it up after several dozen meters.

"Well, I'll get some bamboo when I get back. It's only with a bamboo fence that it has the proper feel to it."

After that, Jiang He had Dumbo dig another twenty or so holes.

Spending a hundred thousand Farm Points at one go, he redeemed 20 packs of Mysterious Soil.

Jiang He more or less understood that stuff now—it was a high-grade fertilizer that promotes crop growth and strengthen the attributes of the crops.

After that, he drew out the Autumn Water Sword hilt and the one third of its edge, planted it and pour an entire pack of Mysterious Soil. It was only by giving that you receive, and he would be earning a killing if he managed to plant another premium soul weapon.

Next up, he started planting the mushrooms.

Dumbo stared at the Doom Shroom in Jiang He's hand curiously and asked uncertainly, "Master, why does that very black thing look like a dog pee cap?"

The dog pee cap was another type of mushroom. It usually grows on the corner of a walls or dried dung, was mildly poisonous and would turn black once exposed to the sun. Jiang He was uncertain what other places called it, and either way it is called the dog pee cap over at Lingzhou City, since it grows out at corners of the wall where dogs peed on.

He then checked the Doom Shroom again…

Others notwithstanding, the resemblance was striking.

That being said, it felts so weird when Dumbo says the name 'dog pee cap'.

Jiang He placed one of the Doom Shroom in the soil and opened another pack of Mysterious Soil, then poured in half for each hole. And after he planted all 38 Doom Shrooms, the 20 packs of Mysterious Soil he redeemed just a moment ago was used up.

That was when a sword light radiated out from beneath ground at the spot where he planted the Autumn Water Sword.

There was a dark green luster emanating form the sword light that resembled lake water, stirring circular waves—as the sword light expanded, even the sound of waves could be heard.

After around two hours, the dark green sword light stopped growing.

Jiang He reached out to grab the sword light, and it promptly shrunk into a dark-green longsword that landed in Jiang He's palm.

[Ding!]

[10,000 Farm Points.]

As the System Notification jingled in his head, a look of delight showed on Jiang He's face and he exclaimed, "Premium soul item!"

The System awarded him 10,000 Farm Points when he reaped the Scarlet Flame Sword too… and clearly, the Autumn Water Sword was a premium sold item as well.

Jiang He then looked at the Autumn Water Sword, a cluster of data appearing before his eyes—

[Autumn Water Sword]

[Grade: Premium soul weapon.]

Jiang He laughed out loud, grabbed the Autumn Water Sword and slashed it on his fingertip.

Clang!

The sound of clashing metals rang.

Jiang He: "…"

Now that he had reached mastery over the third-tier of the Nine Heavenly Star Body Formula, Jiang He's physical durability had improved by almost ten times. Even a nonchalant cut from a premium soul weapon barely tore his skin.

There was no helping it—he just has to cut a little stronger.

Cutting his finger and dripping a drop of blood on the Autumn Water Sword, Jiang He refined the sword while complaining, "Who was it who invented the blood offering method to mystic treasures… isn't that too unreasonable?"

Now that he had mastered the third-tier of the Nine Star Heavenly Body Formula, it was actually difficult to cut through his skin.

If he reached tier-four or five, wouldn't the premium flying swords break even before it cut through his skin? How should he refine the mystic treasures when that happened?

"Well, I'll have to get an even higher-grade mystic treasure… or maybe use my teeth?"

Jiang He had a flash of inspiration just then. There would definitely be no problems with using teeth since one's teeth is always as harder than one's physical being, meaning that he could break his skin even after strengthening.

Either way, he owned two premium flying swords now.

The Scarlet Flame Sword with the fire attribute and the Autumn Water Sword with the water attribute was just right for cultivating the Ice and Fire Duality Sword Array.

A System Notification jingled in Jiang He's head then—

[Ding!]

[Ice and Fire Duality Sword Array detected. Consume 300,000 Farm Points to learn cultivate, Host?]

Three hundred thousand…

So expensive!

Jiang He complained.

Counting in the 10,000 Farm Points earned after harvesting the Autumn Water Sword just now, he only had 310,000 Farm Points now.

He would be penniless after cultivating.

Cultivate!

With just a thought, the crisp System notification jingled in his mind once more—

[Ding!]

[-300,000 Farm Points.]

[Congratulations, host. You have cultivated the Ice and Fire Duality Sword Array to Mastery.]

In that very moment, substantial profound information about a sword array poured inside Jiang He's head. With a single thought, Jiang He released both the Scarlet Flame Sword and the Autumn Water Sword, and he wielded both flying swords according to the Ice and Fire Duality Sword Array. Waves of sword hum resonated, and the Scarlet Flame Sword turned into a fiery radiance, whereas the Autumn Water Sword turned into a watery radiance.

The fiery and watery radiances then interweaved up in the air, slicing through it.

Whoosh!

It actually sliced through some of the graying mist up in the skies of the farm.

Jiang He waved, all smiles as he put away Scarlet Flame Sword and the Autumn Water Sword.

The Ice and Fire Duality Sword Array was very powerful.

The sword slash just now was more than several times stronger than a full-power White Foal Crosses the Rift, the first style of the Three Thousand Calamities.

"With the third-tier of the Nine Heavenly Star Body Formula coupled with the Ice and Fire Duality Sword Array, I now more or less have the leverage to kill the Sky Demon Cult and the Dragoncroc Emperor…"

Jiang He then turned to look at the Doom Shroom on the ground.

They had matured too, and was now more than twice larger than before. Still, there was not much change in its appearance, and it still remembered a pitch-black… dog pee cap.

Jiang He reached out and plucked one.

[Ding!]

[100 Farm Points.]

Hmmm?

Jiang He's face twitched.

A single Doom Shroom…

Actually earned him a thousand Farm Points?

And he had over a thousand of those, so didn't that mean he could hoard another wave of Farm Points once again?

Of course, Farm Points were a secondary objective—Jiang He was most concerned about the stats of the Doom Shroom.

He stared at the Doom Shroom in his hand, and a cluster of data appeared before his eyes.

[Doom Shroom]

[A mutated mushroom with a temper. Causes a violent explosion upon collision.]

[Yield: 500,000 tons.]

Chapter 259: Taking the Initiative

"Woah!"

Jiang He could not help gasping when he saw the '500,000 ton' under the 'yield' header and exclaimed in shock. "Five hundred thousand ton-yield… Not even I would last for seconds if I was at the epicenter, would I?"

What does a five hundred thousand yield mean?

The yield of the atomic bomb 'Little Boy' was twenty thousand, but the application of nuclear materials at the time was not very advanced, which was why the actual explosion was measured to be around fifteen thousand tons.

And though Little Boy was just 50,000 tons when it detonated 580 meters in the air, it reduced the city of 245,000 people to rubble, killing 200,000.

In other words, any explosive with a 500,000-ton yield would wipe a city from the face of the earth when dumped on any city.

It would blow even Feral Emperors to death!

The scorching heat generated from the 500,000-ton yield would instantly vaporize everything. Even though Jiang He had already cultivated the Nine Stars Heavenly Body Formula up to the third tier and had many other cultivations at his disposal, he would last no longer than three seconds before he was blown to pieces.

Nonetheless, having cultivated to his level, he could flee several kilometers away at his top speed in just three seconds, so escaping the epicenter and surviving would not be a problem.

"Would the Dragoncroc Emperor die if I use this thing to blow it up?"

Jiang He thought even as he continued plucking the other Doom Shrooms.

[Ding!]

[1000 Farm Points.]

[Ding!]

[1000 Farm Points.]

[Ding…]

There was a total of 38 Doom Shrooms, earning Jiang He 38,000 Farm Points.

Jiang He glanced at his System Panel and noticed that his Farm EXP had reached (20,800/500,000).

"It seems that EXP could be farmed easily too. One Doom Shroom is worth 1000 Farm Points and 100 EXP, so with a thousand or so Doom Shrooms I have, I would earn more than a million Farm points and over a hundred thousand Farm EXP."

Jiang He had originally intended to plant the Doom Shroom in peace, but could not help getting irritated once he remembered the partnership between the Saint of the Sky Demon Cult and the Dragoncroc Emperor.

How could he farm in peace without resolving that matter?

After some thought, Jiang He decided to bring along the Cloudscraper Vine when he went to town.

The Cloudscraper Vine which had evolved up to divine-tier has eighteen tendrils now, each of them thick and massive, extending more than 200 meters.

Arriving before the Cloudscraper Vine, Jiang He extended his hand and said through clenched teeth, "Get in."

To tell the truth…

Jiang He was a little anxious.

The Cloudscraper Vine was so massive. It was frightening even in appearance if it really entered his body.

Its tendrils were several meters thick and over 200 meters long… most importantly, it had spikes under the branches and leaves which absolutely could be used as a toothed club.

Ooom!

A green light flashed.

The Cloudscraper Vine rapidly shrank, turning into a green light before it climbed inside Jiang He's body.

Taken aback, Jiang He then exclaimed in shock, "Did the method you enter my body also change after evolving?"

It was already eleven when Jiang He stepped out of the farm.

He took out a lunchbox and ate it for breakfast, laughing bitterly and shaking his head even as he ate, "Who eats lunchboxes in the morning… honestly, the stronger I am, the more chaotic my lifestyle had become. When I've dealt with the Saint of the Sky Demon Cult and the Dragoncroc Emperor, I'm going to have Sora make me some steamed dumplings to carry around, which I could heat up with my fire-type powers during breakfast."

And at the thought of steamed dumplings, Jiang He suddenly found the 'cucumber with carrot shreds coleslaw over tofu skin' was not all that tasty now.

When that happened, he could use several new stuffing in his dumplings.

For example, leek and Golden-Winged Roc, pickled cabbage and Blue King Drake, eggplant and Dragoncroc Emperor…

After finishing breakfast, he headed to the Martial Arts Department (MAD) of Jingdu City.

Zhou Yu came to welcome him once he reached the MAD tower.

"Where's Old Wang?"

Jiang He asked. "How much has he recovered?"

Zhou Yu replied, "Minister Wang is still recovering under confinement, although he did ask for Elder Lin—Lin Tianzheng, saying that he had something to discuss."

Jiang He frowned.

What was going on?

He had prescribed some medicine to Wang Hou, but could the Amoxicillin capsule and band-aid be useless?

After some discussion, Jiang He learned that the Ferals were amassing everywhere across the nation, with Feral Kings of various sectors raring to go, that the Ferals could attack the cities at any given moment.

There was also a good deal of Sky Demon Cultists apprehended around the country, and according to Zhou Yu, they had spread news of Wang Hou's injury.

And since Zhou Yu was also busy with work and did not have the time to spend with Jiang He, he left with a fist-palm salute after several exchanges.

Jiang He himself headed to the training room where Wang Hou was recovering, and found the man himself lying on a cane chair, holding a Thermos cup with both hands and sipping from it very leisurely.

Opposite Wang Hou was an elderly white-haired man.

He was wearing a Tang suit and had an imposing air to him, drawing Jiang He's gaze to him involuntary once he entered the room. His heart skipping a beat, Wang Hou exclaimed in shock, "Is that old man Three Blades Lin's gramps?"

"There's mana signature on his body—could he have assumed the path of immortal Qi Refinists as well?"

"No, no, his mana is very weak, and he had yet to reach the six-fold in Qi Refinist. That said, his martial artist cultivation is not bad, and even a class above Wang Hou."

While Jiang He was staring at Lin Tianzheng, Lin Tianzheng was returning his gaze too.

"Is that… the aura of a complete Golden Aura?"

Jiang He did not deliberately hide his aura, which was why Lin Tianzheng could sense Jiang He's cultivation, was subtly stunned by it and felt disbelief, "Is he the rumored Jiang He? Completing the Golden Pellet-tier at such a young age, even cultivating up to divine-conversion pinnacle in martial arts…"

Lin Tianzheng's expression changed after further observation.

He could vaguely sense the terrible energies hidden within Jiang He's body: his blood surged like a great river and his heart pounded like resounding thunder. Indeed, Lin Tianzheng could even feel that the seemingly frail body was lurking with strength that could kill him with a single punch.

He hence put on a fist-palm salute and said, "Brother Jiang He. The name's Lin Tianzheng—I've heard of your good name before, and seeing you today, you really do deserve your reputation."

Jiang He laughed out loud. "You're too kind, Elder Lin."

Inside, he was actually feeling bliss.

'Three Blades Lin's gramps is calling me brother?

'Does that not mean my seniority has improved further?

'Since I am being brotherly with Three Blades Lin's gramps, is it not appropriate for me to call Three Blades Lin grandson?'

Clang.

Nearby, Wang Hou dropped his Thermos cup to the floor.

He could tell how Jiang He's body changed, and exclaimed in surprise, "Your physique… strengthened again?"

"After I left, I cultivated myself a little and improved my physique when I wasn't paying attention… is my physical strength that obvious, Minister Wang?" Jiang He sighed.

Ascending too quickly could be an annoyance.

When you are too strong, you would not be able to keep your power under wraps at once.

Being weaker was fine, because being someone powerful, your qi that was as vast as the seas could be sensed from miles away.

His plan therefore had to be postponed again.

He would at least need most of the day to adapt to his own power.

"You've recovered, Minister Wang?"

"Yeah."

Wang Hou was surprised once again upon the mention of that matter.

The band-aids and Amoxicillin capsules had actually worked!

Even when Wang Hou suppressed the Sword Qi and Demonic Qi that lingered at his wounds at full strength, he still needed around half a month to completely extinguish them. On the other hand, it took less than an hour to dispel everything after using Jiang He's Amoxicillin capsules.

After a few exchanges, Wang Hou's tone shifted as he said, "Everything is in motion across the nation. The Saint of the Sky Demon Cult has set his cultists everywhere to spread news of my injury, and every Feral King is raring to go, ready to unleash Feral Swarms at any moment."

He laughed, killing intent flashing upon his face as he growled, "Even so, the Saint of the Sky Demon Cult would never imagine that I've recovered!"

Standing up, he went to the window and stared out afar, "If the Saint of the Sky Demon Cult and the Dragoncroc Emperor are really in league with each other, elites across the country would be tied down and no one would be available to save you."

He then turned and laughed. "However, neither the Saint of the Sky Demon Cult nor the Dragoncroc Emperor knows that Old Lin here is back, and they would never have thought that I could heal so quickly in their wildest dreams."

"Jiang He, we could use that fact to turn the tables and kill both the Saint of the Sky Demon Cult and the Dragoncroc Emperor."

Wang Hou then spoke of his plan.

He meant to hide himself and Three Blades Lin at Jiang He's house. When the Saint of the Sky Demon Cult and the Dragoncroc Emperor come to attack him, they would show up and catch them unawares—they would definitely be able kill at least one of them.

Indeed, that plan seemed good.

Jiang He could not help nodding, but soon frowned since he had some questions, "But… what if neither the Saint of the Sky Demon Cult or the Dragoncroc Emperor come to ambush me?"

"The Sky Demon Cult needs to get past you if they want to occupy Lingzhou City, not to mention that you single-handedly wiped-out half of their elites. Do you really think that the Saint of the Sky Demon Cult wouldn't want to kill you?

"Or perhaps the Dragoncroc Emperor is reluctant to kill you as well?

"As a matter of fact, now is the best timing to kill you."

Wang Hou switched to Detective Conan mode then as he offered a clear and logical analysis, "Normally, I would need at least ten days to recover my peak power from such an injury. If the Saint of the Sky Demon Cult and the Dragoncroc Emperor were to make a move, it would be in ten days… No, to avoid long nights and excessive nightmares, I would make a move in the next seven days if I were the Saint of the Sky Demon Cult."

Seven…

Seven days?

Jiang He, who thought that Wang Hou's analysis was sound at first could not help chuckling bitterly.

As long as the Saint of the Sky Demon Cult and the Dragoncroc Emperor did not attack, his subconscious would be strung up by a thread, worried and fearing, thereby losing more sleep. And if he slept poorly, his spirit would wear out, affecting his appetite…

It was so frightening! So tiresome!

Waiting for seven days…

Jiang He could not do that at all.

After musing to himself for a while, he hesitantly said, "Minister Wang, I actually have a better idea… why don't I take the initiative and kill both the Saint of the Sky Demon Cult and the Dragoncroc Emperor? Wouldn't I no longer have to worry about them?"

"…"

Both Wang Hou and Lin Tianzheng gaped…

It feels like Jiang He was speaking reason!

Report chapter

Chapter 260: How To Decide Another's Fate?

The vast training room appeared unusually silent.

Jiang He watched as Lin Tianzheng and Wang Hou traded glances, asking in surprise, "Minister Wang, Elder Lin, perhaps you find my plan impractical? If that's the case, we could carry out a second plan, such as knocking down the doors of either the Sky Demon Cult's Saint or the Dragoncroc Emperor, killing one of them."

If one was killed, how could they work together?

Lin Tianzheng was not very familiar with Jiang He, but Wang Hou knew that the kid always kept his word. That was why he quickly said, "We mustn't be rash, Jiang He. The Saint of the Sky Demon Cult is very powerful, and his cultivation is probably close to the pinnacle of Void-tier advanced. Moreover, I sensed that he wasn't using his full power when he ambushed me, as he quickly distanced himself after one strike—I might not have been able to return alive otherwise."

Moreover, it was all a hunch. What if the Saint of the Sky Demon Cult and the Dragoncroc Emperor were not in league?

Nonetheless, Jiang He had always preferred to kill any threat in its cradle. He was not bothered with finding out whether the Saint of the Sky Demon Cult and the Dragoncroc Emperor were actually working together, because the possibility of it made it true already!

And if that was the case, he could not afford to wait until they come charging to his house, could he?

Nonetheless, Jiang He appeared stunned and frightened as he said, "Lucky that I held back for now, and did not go after the Sky Demon Cult's Saint and the Dragoncroc Emperor. Otherwise, I might not manage to kill them with my ability yesterday."

Wang Hou's expression turned dark at that as he continued, "Moreover, the Dragoncroc Emperor would not be weaker than the Sky Demon Cult's Saint, and it is backed by an ancient daemon. Elder Lin here has gathered information that those ancient daemons cultivated daemonic arts, offering sacrifices to refine their daemonic weapons and are extremely powerful."

"I've already predicted that."

Jiang He breathed a sigh of relief. "Minister Wang, which of them is easier to kill—the Sky Demon Cult's Saint and the Dragoncroc Emperor? For more assurance, I think we should go with the second plan: kill one first to take them out one at a time."

"Absolutely not, Jiang He!"

Wang Hou exclaimed. "We need to take our time and think this through!"

"Hah! Take our time? They are ready to work together and kill me, and resigning myself to die isn't my style." Jiang He laughed coolly.

Resigning ourselves?

Wang Hou was speechless.

Could Jiang He have misunderstood the term?

Were they not just discussing setting a trap just before?

But as Wang Hou attempted to dissuade him again, Jiang He said, "Don't worry, Minister Wang. I won't go without being a hundred percent sure, and I'm not about to go looking for the Sky Demon Cult's Saint and the Dragoncroc Emperor right now."

Wang Hou couldn't help breathing a sigh of relief.

As long as he listened to reason…

He was really afraid that Jiang He would be so reckless that he charged straight to Shennongjia.

On the other hand, Jiang He was thinking something else—

'I have just ascended and could not fully withdraw my qi. Would I be able to kill the Sky Demon Cult's Saint and the Dragoncroc Emperor if they could sense me from miles away?'

What if they turned tail and fled?

That was why he should be adapting himself to his own strength, and make a move only after he fully controls his qi and not let it loose.

And that process…

Would take most of the day.

And since it would be around nighttime when he goes ahead, why would he say that it was now?

Moreover, fighting at night has another advantage—when he was done fighting, wounded or bleeding as well as having released Twenty-Three Swords to consume his spirit, he could go home and fall asleep right away.

Jiang He had thought about it extensively.

After chatting a bit more, it was time for lunch.

Wang Hou tried to treat Jiang He to a meal at the Martial Arts Department (MAD) to let him have a taste of the food there, Jiang He refused, saying, "Could I loan someone from you, Minister Wang?"

"It's Yan Dehao. I want to know more about the information he has about the Sky Demon Cult. After all, knowing yourself and the enemy wins a hundred battles."

"Alright, I'll have Zhou Yu make the arrangements."

"Many thanks."

Jiang He rose to his feet and offered a fist-palm salute in parting, saying, "By the way, I'm staying at room 7014 in Hotel Yilong. Just have Yan Dehao go there directly."

After Jiang He left, Lin Tianzheng laughed. "He is quite something… Moreover, he has the aura of a complete Golden Pellet. He must have gained great providence given his cultivation at such a young age, and it must have been the legacy of a certain clan. Still, I wonder if any old antiques are still alive in that clan."

Wang Hou could not help feeling a headache at the term, 'old antique'.

Seemingly able to see through Wang Hou's worries, Lin Tianzheng chuckled, "Minister Wang, you don't have to be so worried. Us humans have some of these old antiques still in slumber too, and acquiring microworld legacies is not actually a bad thing. If they weren't there as a deterrent, the ancient daemons would have shown up long ago."

"That is true… but conflict is unavoidable once they awaken. With those old antiques' heavenly powers and depravity, who could stop them then?'

Wang Hou shook his head, dispelling the worries in his head.

Wang Hou's tone changed and said, "Whatever, let's not think about that for now. Right now, both the Sky Demon Cult and the daemons believe that I am heavily injured and would definitely go on a rampage in the next few days. We could use this opportunity to kill us a large bunch of Feral Kings, and if we succeed, there would be complete calm over the Hua Nation."

"And if Jiang He cooperates… we would have a shot against the Sky Demon Cult's Saint and the Dragoncroc Emperor too."

"I'll go through the details with Jiang He tomorrow. You and I shall head to Lingzhou City in secret after Jiang He himself went back—when the Sky Demon Cult's Saint and the Dragoncroc Emperor come calling, even killing one of them is a great victory.

While Wang Hou and Lin Tianzheng discussed their plans, Jiang He had returned to Hotel Yilong and began to condition himself to his strength. He flexed his muscles, familiarizing himself with every inch of his flesh as he attempted to perfectly withdraw his qi…

Then, someone knocked on his door around half past two.

It was Yan Dehao.

His burly two meters frame appeared rather ragged, and he looked curious tired. Only his bald head was even shinier now.

"You were asking for me, Mister Jiang?"

Once Yan Dehao entered the room, the smell of alcohol streamed out of his mouth.

Jiang He was stunned.

A chatterbox champion like Yan Dehao tended to be always optimistic, so why would he end up like this after a few days apart?

After a bit of questioning, Yan Dehao stammered and throw up his hands. "I'm fine. It's just… I was undercover for so long, and not really used to life now after I came back… Sob… Mister Jiang… Y-You were right."

Suddenly…

He burst into tears, and cried like an overgrown baby who was also 2 meters tall and over 200 catty.

That left Jiang He very confused.

My hunch… was right?

He then remembered his conversation with Yan Dehao just a few days ago.

When Yan Dehao mentioned his girlfriend, Jiang He himself seemed to have said something in the lines of… after leaving without a word for seven years as an undercover agent, your girlfriend's children might have grown so much they could use soy sauce bottles now.

Could it be…

He was on the money?

Indeed, he did not even have to ask, and Yan Dehao started talking about how his ex-girlfriend married someone else and started a family.

Jiang He was listening happily when Yan Dehao abruptly stopped sobbing, put on a strong face and seethed, "It's my fault, it's all my fault. She would definitely have waited for me if I mustered my courage and confess to her before I went undercover."

Jiang He: "…"

Screw me.

You were crying over half a day when you hadn't even confessed?

So…

You are merely nursing single-sided feelings for said girlfriend?

Still, Jiang He could not bear seeing Yan Dehao crying so miserably, and said, "Grandmaster Yan, you should think about this way… if you really confessed back then, she would have rejected you for being ugly, so she wouldn't have been your girlfriend."

"And if she's not your girlfriend, what does she starting a family have to do with you?"

"That's impossible!" Yan Dehao exclaimed angrily. "She would never have rejected me!"

A vein bulged on Jiang He's forehead at that. Why can't this brat listen to advice?

After taking a deep breath, Jiang He added, "Then let's change our perspective. Even if she promised to become your girlfriend, humans always have a change of heart. It's not too much even if she married someone else and started a family after not hearing a word from you for seven years?"

"No way, she's not like that…"

Jiang He clenched his fist until it started cracking loudly and gritted his teeth, "Yan Dehao, do you believe me when I say that I'll punch you if you keep talking back?"

Shocked, Yan Dehao promptly beamed and said, "Just tell me what you want to know, Mister Jiang. I'll tell you everything I know."

Jiang He then asked about the Sky Demon Cult's headquarters in detail.

By using the locations of previous entry points, Yan Dehao made a guess. "The entry points were always in the wildlands. Although they would shift around up to fifty kilometers, the general location ought to be Mount Leigong and Moon Hill in Miaojiang."

After Yan Dehao left, Jiang He took out his phone to check the landscape around Miaojiang, along with the general location of Mount Leigong and Moon Hill. At the same time, his qi was circulating and he was adapting himself to his own strength.

Soon, the sun was gone and night has come.

It was only then that Jiang He's aura suddenly stirred, and in the next instant, the aura of his frightening physical strength was promptly withdrawn.

Jiang He stood up laughing. "Not bad, not bad… now that my qi and energy could be retracted, I look no different from an average person before I release my power. With this, I don't have to worry about the Sky Demon Cult's Saint and the Dragoncroc Emperor noticing me beforehand."

Then, Jiang He mused to himself for quite a while.

Should he go to Shennongjia to kill the Dragoncroc Emperor, or go bother the Sky Demon Cult over at Miaojiang?

Jiang He had always been prudent when it comes to deciding the fate of others, for he could not afford to be careless at all.

That was why he decided to… flip a coin.

"Heads and it's the Sky Demon Cult, tails and it's the Dragoncroc Emperor…."

Whoosh!

The coin jumped high in the air before landing on Jiang He's palm.

Jiang He opened his fingers…

It was tails.

"Is it a little unfair for the Dragoncroc Emperor that I decided its fate with a coin toss?"

Jiang He thought about it, and then decided to toss the coin two more times.

Best of three and all that.

Still, he couldn't help laughing after throwing all three times. "It seems that even the heavens want to see you die, Dragoncroc Emperor… I'm letting them down if I don't kill you."

All three coin-tosses ended up tails.

At the same time.

The depths of a big lake in Shennongjia.

The Dragoncroc Emperor was sitting cross-legged in mediation, refining the Nine Dragon God Fire Shroud.

Like a bell, the bronze Nine Dragon God Fire Shroud was swirling atop the Dragoncroc Emperor's head when it suddenly opened its jaw and spat out a mouthful of blood essence.

Ooom!

The blood essence fused inside the Nine Dragon God Fire Shroud, causing it to shine brightly.

All the light receded in the next instant, and the Nine Dragon God Fire Shroud shrank down to three-inches and landed on the Dragoncroc Emperor's palm.

Delighted, he laughed out loud, rose and strode out of his lake. "Now that I've fully refined the Nine Dragon God Fire Shroud and gained great strength, I shall move to rendezvous with the Sky Demon Cult's Saint tomorrow at Lingzhou."

The appointed day was at hand!

There was a flash of killing intent in the Dragoncroc Emperor's eyes just then…

Tomorrow, Jiang He shall die!

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Chapter 261: Don't You Believe I'll Cut You Down Too?

Jiang He left his hotel at around 10 pm.

It was the timing that he had decided upon after thinking long and hard.

Shennongjia was around 1400 km away from Jingdu city—a round trip, added with the time needed to find and kill the Dragoncroc Emperor, would take at least two hours.

"I'll probably make it back around half past twelve. I'll have a bath then and blow-dry my hair. It would then be one, which is also my usual sleeping hour."

Whoosh!

Jiang He took to the air, turning into a thunderbolt that disappeared in the night skies.

Pinpointing a direction, he flew at three times the speed of sound and landed on the wildlands just 100 km away from Shennongjia.

A rank-six Feral came crashing towards him just as his feet reached ground.

It was a tank-sized boar.

Jiang He killed it with a single punch before starting a fire to grill it.

'I forgot about dinner before coming, so I'll just have some grilled meat. It's a little waste of time at worst, and I would just have to get home and sleep later than expected,' Jiang He mused, grilling the meat as he whipped out his satellite phone and searched for information about the Dragoncroc Emperor.

He had to admit that the military-grade satellite phone was very useful. Neither signals nor network were affected even in an old forest wildland like this, and was more than enough for watching videos, let alone checking intel and maps.

"Dragoncroc Emperor…."

"Feral Emperor."

"Suspected to be an ancient species. Almost a hundred meters in length and covered in black scales, bearing draconic attributes over its head."

The Dragoncroc Emperor's existence was no secret—a simple search on the Internet would suffice, although the information available on Warrior Home was more completely. There were even several photos of the beast, and from the distant angle, it must have been captured with drones or some equipment.

The creature's lair was Lake Dajiu.

It was a famous scenic spot in Shennongjia. Composed of lakes and marshes with various sizes, it spanned over thirty thousand Mu, and was 15 km in length from north to south and 3 km in width from east to west.

There was a flatland in the middle of Lake Dajiu surrounded by towering mountains, which was why it was known as a 'mountain plains' and the Hulunbuir of Shennongjia.

Naturally, that was the landscape before the Revival of Qi.

It appears that these lands had changed drastically after the Revival of Qi. A lot of the mountains had collapsed and the many lakes and marshes had combined as one, forming a great lake.

And the Dragoncroc Emperor lived there.

'If that's so, the Dragoncroc Emperor's nest would not be that hard to find. I just hope that it has been staying in its lair and not running around…wouldn't I have run around for nothing otherwise?'

As Jiang He smelled the aroma wafting from his grill meat, Jiang He took out a bottle of Origin Fluid, eating and drinking while he thought, 'Although the Origin Fluid tastes incredible, it feels lacking when matched with grill meat. I should get some aged alcohol when I have the time like Lafite or Maotai or whatnot for my next grill session.'

Having had his fill, Jiang He then hurried on his way.

He withdrew his aura as he weaved in and out across the wildlands and soon arrived upon the lake which the information mentioned.

Hidden behind a bushes on the shores of the lake, Jiang He thought about how he should quietly slip into the lake, then find and kill the Dragoncroc Emperor. However, before he could think of a plan, he heard an echoing splash—

A huge wave shot up from the heart of the lake.

And behind it was a bronze shroud that resembled a bell.

It broke through the surface and hovered up in the air, and behind the shroud was a black-robed figure.

Standing atop the lake, the black-robed man opened his mouth and spat out a Daemonic Qi that entered the shroud, which immediately shone in green light and rapidly expanded into a circle that stretched over a hundred feet.

A fire in the shape of a dragon blazed within the shroud, and Jiang He could feel the horrific heat despite being several hundred meters away.

Even the waters of the lake were steaming from the scorching heat.

'It's a mystic treasure!'

Jiang He's eyes tightened and he looked utterly shocked. 'No, that person breathed Daemonic Qi just now—he isn't human, but a daemonic cultivator who has transformed… that shroud must therefore be a daemonic weapon and not of a low grade either, but of at least moderate grade!'

Who was that black-robed man?

No, the black-robed daemonic cultivator!

Was it the Dragoncroc Emperor?

It most likely was…

Feral Emperor, advanced?

It was equal to Void-tier, and more or less same as True-Child in immortal terms. Still, the tiers of daemonic cultivation differed from human cultivation.

After all, Jiang He did read the Sky Daemon Invincibility which Trumbo translated, and hence learned that after a certain progress in cultivation, daemonic cultivators would refine their Daemonic Pellets, a level that was equal to humans' Golden Pellet-tier.

And above Daemonic pellet is Morphing, and most daemonic cultivators who reached that level usually could transform into humans, and that was equal to humans' True Child.

Jiang He could not help feeling lucky that he decided to stay his hand right then, and improved his ability before coming to bother the Dragoncroc Emperor…or he would not have had a good chance of killing the beast.

'Hold on…'

Another thought occurred to Jiang He then.

Did the Dragoncroc Emperor get a stroke?

Why was it cultivating its daemonic weapon with offerings in the middle of the night?

That was when the black-robed man, who was actually the Dragoncroc Emperor, morphed laughed fearsomely. "Jiang He, I have fully refined the Nine Dragon God Fire Shroud. How can you stop me after my powers have doubled?"

"I shall claim your dog life tomorrow!"

It was just muttering to itself…

But when it reached Jiang He's ears, he seemed to hear it differently.

'Oh no, the Dragoncroc Emperor really did notice me!'

Jiang He was at once both shocked and doubtful.

Since the Dragoncroc Emperor has noticed him, why would it not make a move, but instead show-off incessantly and even turn its back against him?

Even so, could Jiang He be bothered about all that in such a moment?

Those who strike first win, those who strike late lose.

Whoosh!

In almost a split second, a crimson light shot out from between Jiang He's brows!

It was the Scarlet Flame Sword!

First style of the Three Thousand Calamities: White Foal Crosses the Rift!

The Dragoncroc Emperor was less than five hundred meters away from Jiang He and the Scarlet Flame Sword reached it in the blink of an eye…the Dragoncroc Emperor did not even have time to react before the scarlet sword radiance pierced through its shoulder with a loud shank.

"Who is it?"

Boom!

Horrific Daemonic Qi erupted out of the Dragoncroc Emperor's body. Extending his hand with a summoning gesture, the Nine Dragon God Fire Shroud descended and covered his entire body before it promptly turned to find Jiang He stepping out from its bushes.

Its eyes tightening, it cried out involuntarily, "Jiang He?"

"Yes, it's me."

Extending his hand and beckoning the Scarlet Flame Sword to return to him, Jiang He's complete Golden Pellet aura emanated…but he was frowning.

What was going on?

Didn't the Dragoncroc Emperor notice him already?

Why did it fail to evade his sword?

Even if he couldn't, he could have used that…Nine Dragon God Fire Shroud or something to protect himself from Jiang He's sword, could he not?

In truth, the Dragoncroc Emperor did not notice a thing.

At this very moment, it was utterly baffled.

What the hell.

What had actually happened?

I've just finished refining the Nine Dragon God Fire Shroud and was testing its power just outside my home, and suddenly got stabbed by Jiang He?

Nonetheless, how much of an eminence was the Dragoncroc Emperor?

After a moment of surprise, it promptly came to its senses. Its aura shot up three times in power as it roared, "Jiang He, you really would rather die when you could have lived a little longer! To think that you would come on your own when this emperor is about to take your life!"

Whoosh!

He reached Jiang He with a single stride, punching out at him.

The Dragoncroc Emperor was very confident.

Buffed with the Nine Dragon God Fire Shroud, a superior daemonic weapon, he did not fear Jiang He at all… the strike just now was a fluke, and he had simply let down his guard.

Be that as it may, Jiang He did not retreat or evade the Dragoncroc Emperor's punched. Laughing out loud, it punched out in return.

As his fist extended, a horrific physical strength akin to the gods burst out in an instant!

Pow…

The Dragoncroc Emperor was sent flying backwards from that one punch, and even reverted from human form to its true form. The Nine Dragon God Fire Shroud was shaking incessantly from the impact, the green light on its surface dulling.

"No…"

The Dragoncroc Emperor could not help crying out in panic, "How are you so strong?"

Jiang He ignored it. Striding forward again, he sent forth another punch.

Pow!

Though the punch landed on the Nine Dragon God Fire Shroud, the brute strength ruptured all of the Dragoncroc Emperor's organs even though it was weakened by the Shroud. Once again, the Dragoncroc Emperor was sent flying and coughing blood profusely, its daemonic Yuan Qi choking and almost unable to sustain the Nine Dragon God Fire Shroud now.

It tried to call for help, but Jiang He had slammed another punch on the Nine Dragon God Fire Shroud just as it opened its mouth.

As a superior daemonic armament, The Nine Dragon God Fire Shroud could restrain or kill an opponent, as well as be used for guarding…and yet, it had become misshapen just after three of Jiang He's punches.

And even though the Dragoncroc Emperor was shielded behind the Nine Dragon God Fire Shroud, most of its body was mangled and it was bleeding profusely.

Its dark-golden pupils were filled with fear.

How…

How could this be?

Was Jiang He really this powerful?

He is getting killed even with the Nine Dragon God Fire Shroud's protection?

The brat did not show such power when he was killing the Golden-Winged Roc just a few days ago…The Dragoncroc Emperor himself had witnessed the entire battle, and it was only because of that power level displayed then that he agreed to work with the Sky Demon Cult's Saint!

On the other hand, Jiang He was feeling a little helpless.

He was still just a little weak.

Now, he had a general idea what grade the Nine Dragon God Fire Shroud was. It could be nothing less than superior, since a mediocre grade item would not be misshapen from three of his full-powered punches, but directly broken.

He stared at his own fist, which was in a miserable state.

It was bleeding after three consecutive forceful punch on a superior daemonic armament. Most of the skin was broken, since power could mutually destruct.

Meanwhile, the Dragoncroc Emperor had seized its chance to charge its Daemonic Qi, consuming a medicinal herb that must have been a floral sprit to recover before growling, "How dare you ambush this emperor, Jiang He? Don't you believe that every Feral in the world shall go on a rampage on this emperor's call?!"

Amused, Jiang He laughed coolly. "Dragoncroc Emperor, you're plotting with the Sky Demon Cult's Saint to kill me. How could I not retaliate? And you've even said you would claim my dog's life…Did my dog insult you or something?"

The Dragoncroc Emperor was taken aback.

Your…dog's life?

Did you misunderstand something?

Most importantly, how did Jiang He learn that it was in league with the Sky Demon Cult's Saint?

Could that wretch from the Sky Demon Cult have betrayed him? It could not be…

Meanwhile, in the instant that he spaced out, Jiang He released the Autumn Water Sword with a thought.

Both the Scarlet Flame Sword and the Autumn Water Sword burst out in synchrony as a fire dragon and water dragon that interweaved in the night sky, forming the Ice and Fire Duality Sword Array as it shot towards the Dragoncroc Emperor…

And yet, that was the very moment something unusual happened.

A green light shot out from beneath the lake and actually broke Jiang He's Ice and Fire Duality Sword Array.

After that, a silhouette floated up in the air from under the lake, standing before the Dragoncroc Emperor with his hands clasped behind his back and saying evenly, "You're Jiang He?"

The human silhouette was illusory and not solid at all. It studied Jiang He thoughtfully and smiled, "Interesting…A sword cultivator refining his physique as well? If my eyes are right, your body must have reached True Child, has it not? And not at a novice level."

Though the silhouette spoke with an even town, it had a lofty feeling, as if a person was staring down at an ant.

Then, after having a good look at Jiang He, he waved him off and said, "I won't pursue this matter. Leave."

Jiang He laughed from sheer exasperation.

Was that…

A clone, formed from Daemonic Qi and spirit?

No, it was not spirit…but Yuan Spirit!

So this was the Dragoncroc Emperor's backer?

The ancient daemon cultivator that Lin Tianzheng spoke of?

But since its true form was not here, what was there to fear?

He waved his hand. Both the Scarlet Flame Sword and the Autumn Water Sword flew towards him and hovered in near him as he calmly smiled, "Who do you think you are? How dare you show off in daddy's face?"

"Don't you believe that once daddy gets angry, I'll cut you down too?"

Report chapter

Chapter 262: I Killed the Dragoncroc Emperor Already

"How dare you!"

Having slightly recovered, the Dragoncroc Emperor bellowed, "You're seeking death, Jiang He!"

"You would insult His Majesty?"

"This emperor shall cut you down today!"

It had been fearing for its life just a moment ago, but had turned harsh in an instant again.

Ka-boom!

Keeping its true form, its monstrous hundred-meter-long body erupted with abundant Daemonic Qi. Recharging the Nine Dragon God Fire Shroud, it bore down at Jiang He, who merely laughed out loud before punching out and sending the Shroud flying.

With a single thought, the Ice and Fire Duality Sword Array formed once again and shot towards the Dragoncroc Emperor.

The silhouette waved again, nullifying the sword array once again.

He was rather furious.

Even so, he maintained his composure as he spoke, "Jiang He, the reason I have not killed you is not because I can't, but rather because I respect the immortal whom you've inherited your arts from."

The silhouetted raising his hand.

Daemonic winds gusted from everywhere and the entire lake began to rise, with massive waves that churned and splashed up to a thousand meters high with peerless menacing force.

He growled, "Go away…eh?"

The silhouette's face dropped in the very next instant.

He 'saw' a sword light of nothingness shooting straight toward him.

The moment the glint appeared, veins of Sword Qi raged, lighting up the entire night sky.

Shank!

That sword light pierced through the silhouette, whose eyes widened in disbelief. He opened his mouth and tried to speak, but it faded even before it could say a word.

Jiang He appeared a little pale then, but smirked and replied, "A mere Yuan Spirit clone would dare to strut in front of daddy?"

"Do you take daddy for a mud doll, stopping me from killing the croc twice?"

The Twenty-Three Swords specialized in cutting Yuan Spirit!

Jiang He did not know how powerful the owner of the Yuan Spirit clone was, but the manipulation Yuan Spirit meant he could fight at that level.

Even so, there was no need to fear since it was just a clone.

At the same time, in the realm beneath the water, the blue-clothed youth with a scale on his head had been lying in the arms of a group of female daemons when his face dropped and he spat out a mouthful of blood. His aura instantly began to wilt and the female daemons squealed, running away even before they could set their clothes straight, their milky-white assets bouncing around all at once.

"Noisy!"

The blue-clothed youth barked meekly but soon coughed another mouthful of blood. He looked out into the distance with astonishment, murmuring in disbelief, "A Yuan Spirit secret technique?"

"No way…he is a Golden Pellet sword cultivator who had not even cultivated his own Yuan Spirit…how could he have cultivated a Yuan Spirit technique?"

"Such secret techniques are so rare that not even my kind had gained a legacy of that domain, yet he has already done so?"

Right now, how could the blue-clothed youth be bothered about whether the Dragoncroc Emperor lived or died?

He quickly found himself a sealed room, confining himself to nurse his injuries.

That sword was mysterious and unfathomable. It had cut off his Yuan Spirit clone, maiming his Yuan Spirit to such extent that he could not recover without half a year.

Up in the skies above the lake, the Dragoncroc Emperor could not respond just then.

His Majesty's Yuan Spirit clone…had been destroyed?

"Your Majesty!"

It roared with a tragic voice and its monstrous form promptly dived and attempted to sneak back inside its lake. However, Jiang He was quicker than it was and had released another Ice and Fire Duality Sword Array right after he had cut down 'His Majesty' Yuan Spirit clone-that-appeared-out-of-nowhere.

The ice sword and the fire sword interweaved, instantly covering the Dragoncroc Emperor.

The creature shrieked miserably, bursting out with all its daemonic strength in resistance but still ending up decapitated.

Reaching out with a grabbing motion, Jiang He retrieved the Nine Dragon God Fire Shroud that he had punched out of shape with a gust of mana. A superior daemonic item would always fetch a good price and he might even improve it to premium if he were to take it home and plant it.

Naturally, the corpse and head of the Dragoncroc Emperor were not to be thrown away either.

However…it would not be put on the dinner table.

At the very least, Jiang He would not eat it since the Dragoncroc Emperor could morph and eating it would feel weird.

'That said, I killed a Morphing demonic cultivator just like that?'

Jiang He fished out the Dragoncroc Emperor's corpse and headed out of the lake, sighing. 'They keep saying how powerful the Dragoncroc Emperor is, but now it seems this is all it got.'

In fact, it was not the Dragoncroc Emperor being weak.

Having reached Morphing-tier and possessing a superior daemonic mystic item in the Nine Dragon God Fire Shroud, its was more than several times stronger than the Golden-Winged Roc.

But even if it was powerful, Jiang He was stronger!

After he released the Scarlet Flame Sword at the very start to cast White Foal Crosses the Rift and injure the Dragoncroc Emperor, the beast would have long since been killed if it was not for Nine Dragon God Fire Shroud!

Then, he yawned.

Jiang He felt a little sleepy after casting the Twenty-Three Swords, and promptly took to the air, dashing back to Jingdu City.

He reached his hotel past two in the morning.

After a bath, he headed to bed.

There, he lay for several minutes when sleep came, which pleased him very much…

Having killed the Dragoncroc Emperor and pacify the threat that an alliance between the Sky Demon Cult's Saint and the Dragoncroc Emperor posed towards himself, his sleep quality improved just as expected.

He slept all the way until eleven in the morning and received a voice message from Wang Hou just as he woke up.

"Jiang He, I'm having tea with Old Lin out here. Care to join us? We'll discuss how we'll be handling the Sky Demon Cult's Saint and the Dragoncroc Emperor as well."

Wang Hou had sent the map location aside from the voice message.

Even so, Jiang He was puzzled after listening to the voice message.

Handling…

The Dragoncroc Emperor?

Handle what? He had already killed the Dragoncroc Emperor.

Still, after some thinking, he remembered that the nearest city base from Shennongjia was over 150 km away. Even if there was a divine-tier elite guarding it, how could they have sensed the commotion at Shennongjia from the distance?

That was why Wang Hou would not have known that he had gone off to kill the Dragoncroc Emperor on a trip last night.

Meanwhile, at a three-floored teahouse in a quiet alley at Jingdu City, Wang Hou and Lin Tianzheng were sitting inside an elegant private cubicle at the moment, discussing how they should handle the threat of the Sky Demon Cult's Saint and the Dragoncroc Emperor's alliance over tea.

Lin Tianzheng was saying, "Minister Wang, I have a plan.."

"Hold on…"

Wang Hou quickly cut Lin Tianzheng short, saying, "Old Lin, wait for Jiang He before you say it or you would have to repeat it later. It isn't easy for me to free my schedule for tea and there's still a lot waiting for me."

Wang Hou then grumbled away, but ultimately smiled. "Even so, there are things I must do. I won't feel comfortable as long as the threat of Ferals isn't pacified and I hope that this time, Jiang He can work with us to deal with the Sky Demon Cult's Saint and the Dragoncroc Emperor. If we are able to kill one of them, I'll take a day off and sleep an entire day and night—everything else can wait for later."

"Eh?"

Wang Hou's gaze then shifted even as he spoke, and smiled. "Jiang He's here."

His spirit had picked up Jiang He's presence as he entered the teahouse.

Jiang He had noticed Wang Hou and Lin Tianzheng too.

When he arrived at the private cubicle, Wang Hou personally poured Jiang He some tea. After some preamble, Wang Hou smiled and said, "Jiang He, considering that the Sky Demon Cult's Saint and the Dragoncroc Emperor would attack you in the near future, we have to come up with a full set of plans."

Jiang He smiled and waved himoff. "There's no need, Minister Wang. It's just that the Dragoncroc Emperor and I…"

Wang Hou took over before he could finish, saying seriously, "You can't afford to be careless. Not only is the Dragoncroc Emperor powerful but it also ranks high among the daemons in the country. If we can't stop it this time and it incites Feral Swarms across the land, there would most certainly be a disaster, with untold numbers of soldiers and fighters losing their lives."

The Dragoncroc Emperor inciting Feral Swarms everywhere?

How could it move when it is already a corpse?

Watching as Wang Hou and Lin Tianzheng discussed plans and procedures without end, Jiang He had a feeling…

That he should stop pretending.

It was time to reveal his hand.

Would he have the mood for tea if he had to keep listening to Wang Hou and Lin Tianzheng?

Clearing his throat to interrupt their conversation, he smiled. "Minister Wang, Elder Lin. Actually… I think those plans are unnecessary.

"Last night, before I went to sleep… I took some time off to visit Shennongjia and killed the Dragoncroc Emperor…"

Report chapter

Chapter 263: Why Isn't the Dragoncroc Emperor Here Yet?

Jiang He's tone was calm and nonchalant as if he was describing something insignificant.

Even so, it was like a bolt from the blue for Wang Hou and Lin Tianzheng.

The two elites who were discussing away about their 'plans' both turned to look at Jiang He.

They were at once taken aback, stunned and unable to believe it…

After staring at Jiang He for three seconds, Wang Hou suddenly laughed weirdly and said, "Don't joke around, Jiang He…"

Jiang He, killing the Dragoncroc Emperor?

Really?

From what he knew about Jiang He, since the kid had personally claimed that he killed the Dragoncroc Emperor, that could only be true.

It was great news, as the many Ferals of the Hua Nation would go leaderless with that beast's death, just as Feral Swarms everywhere would be reduced to laughing stock…but even so, Wang Hou was a little afraid and unwilling to believe it!

When had he first met Jiang He?

Was it that time when the Blue King Drake, the Golden-Crowned Black Eagle, and the other Feral Kings had all showed up at the Jiangnan City base because of the Black King Drake's death?

It was probably the thirtieth of September.

And today was just the twenty-third of October, less than a month since then.

Was Jiang He not a rank-eight pinnacle at the time?

His combat ability had barely reached the cusp of divine-tier just then. However, in less than a month and as if he had keyed in a cheat code, Jiang He killed the Red Toad King, the Golden-Crowned Black Eagle, the Violet-Crowned Golden Eagle, the Golden-Winged Roc, the Graywolf King and the Dragoncroc Emperor—four peak Feral Kings and two Feral Emperors…

Oh!

And then there was the two Sky Demon Cult cardinals in between.

Was he even human?

There was once a time when Wang Hou joked about how he was the 'Child of Destiny', gaining the legacies from multiple heritage sites, thus allowing him to cultivate and ascend as easily as eating and drinking. Though he was only in his forties, he had already reached the standard of elites the likes of Lin Tianzheng, Dong Haichuan, and Yang Luchan, who had cultivated for over 200 years.

But he was not even worth a fart compared to Jiang He!

The kid was only a rank-eight pinnacle when they first met, but he had even killed the Dragoncroc Emperor now. He, on the other hand…was still a Void-tier novice-pinnacle, having never made any breakthrough in his cultivation.

On the other hand, Jiang He gave Wang Hou a look as he lowered his teacup, a little upset at that. "I was merely telling the truth, Minister Wang. Why would you call it a joke?"

"And like you've guessed, the Dragoncroc Emperor was backed by an ancient daemon."

"It had also cultivated daemonic arts and was able to assume human form, even possessing a superior daemonic armament called the Nine Dragon God Fire Shroud!"

"Oh, right!"

With a turn of his hand, Jiang He took out the Nine Dragon God Fire Shroud and placed it on the tea table, saying, "The Dragoncroc Emperor's corpse is too huge to put inside this building, but I did retrieve the Nine Dragon God Fire Shroud and it's sufficient proof that I killed the Dragoncroc Emperor."

Wang Hou's eyes widened as he stared at the palm-sized Nine Dragon God Fire Shroud.

After it had shrunk, the item was no different from a mini bronze bell.

"A superior daemon armament…"

Lin Tianzheng was rather shocked. "The treasure I obtained from that foreign heritage site was just inferior-grade, which is extremely rare even in the ancient era of qi refinists. Most Golden Pellet-tier cultivators would only use inferior grade soul items as well, but given that superior daemonic armaments are equal to superior soul items, how did the Dragoncroc Emperor manage to come by such an invaluable treasure?"

He sighed in awe, but suddenly shifted his gaze and exclaimed in surprise, "This Nine Dragon God Fire Shroud…why does it looked like it's dented?"

Upon closer examination, he noticed several tiny fist prints on the Nine Dragon God Fire Shroud…since it was now palm-sized, the many fist prints on it appeared tiny.

"Are those dents?"

Wang Hou asked, "I noticed that it was right away, but I was afraid to ask since I don't know much about mystic treasures and daemonic armaments and just assumed that it was already dented in the first place."

"Haha…"

Jiang He chuckled then, and explained, "The Dragoncroc Emperor was so scared that it hid behind the Nine Dragon God Fire Shroud, so I had to keep hitting it from over the Shroud. I ended up denting it after just a few punches."

Dented? There were actually hairline fractures on the Nine Dragon God Fire Shroud itself!

Lin Tianzheng appeared weirded out then, and was looking at Jiang He as if he was a monster.

A superior daemonic armament…

From the information that he had gained from his own legacies, only a full-fledged True Child elite could have caused such damage.

Could Jiang He's combat ability have reached the heights of a full-fledge True Child?

Wang Hou, who was beside them, was not too surprised.

He did not know how 'tough' superior daemonic armaments were, so with a casual change in tone, he said, "You mentioned that the Dragoncroc Emperor had an Ancient Daemon backing him? Can you confirm it? Or could he perhaps have obtained his daemonic cultivation and daemonic armaments from a heritage site similar to the one at Mount Dadong?"

Wang Hou assumed that Jiang He was basing his theory on how the Dragoncroc Emperor had displayed daemonic cultivation and wielded daemonic armaments.

In the bottom of his heart, he absolutely did not hope that a bunch of ancient daemon cultivators would suddenly pop up after the Dragoncroc Emperor was killed…

Even so, the truth is never how one wishes it to be.

In fact, Jiang He answered with both reason and confidence, "Of course I can confirm it. That ancient daemon cultivator was quite powerful and its Yuan Spirit clone alone could easily nullify my attacks, probably reaching Yuan Spirit in fighting strength."

At that, Jiang He laughed coolly and cursed, "That wretch was such a pompous show-off. Not only did it show up and stopped me from killing the Dragoncroc Emperor, it even talked big and act all imposing in my face, but still ended up destroyed by a single swing of my sword!

Wang Hou and Lin Tianzheng were both rendered speechless.

Jumping to his feet, he could not help crying out, "You destroyed the Yuan Spirit clone of an ancient daemon eminence?!"

Jiang He nodded.

Lin Tianzheng's face turned pale as he laughed bitterly, "If its Yuan Spirit clone could fight at Yuan Spirit level, I'm afraid that the ancient daemon cultivator must have been advanced in Yuan Spirit cultivation or perhaps even have grasped it perfectly. It wouldn't let go of the insult from your destruction of its clone."

"It's fine."

Jiang He appeared unconcerned and smiled. "It's fine. Its Yuan Spirit would probably have been grievously hurt since I've destroyed its Yuan Spirit clone, and it wouldn't recover without at least three to five months."

And would Jiang He still fear it after three to five months?

Nonetheless, Jiang He actually took the problem seriously in his mind despite appearing carefree.

What if that ancient daemon cultivator had family or friends?

What if they come looking for him?

Better safe than sorry…

That bother must be resolved as soon as possible!

"By the way, the Yuan Spirit clone of that ancient daemon cultivator appeared from beneath the lake where the Dragoncroc Emperor resided…Could it be hiding beneath the lake to cultivate?" The thought occurred to Jiang He then.

He could visit Shennongjia again after he got stronger.

Either way, the remaining conversation had become much easier.

The trio continued chatting over tea for a while before Wang Hou excused himself in a hurry.

Now that the Dragoncroc Emperor was dead, it was the best time to subjugate every Feral across the land. All they had to do is kill a bunch of Feral Kings and the Hua Nation could sleep in peace over the next few years.

Meanwhile, Jiang He returned to his hotel and released Sora from his farm.

They had a huge battle at the hotel before going on a leisurely stroll at Jingdu city.

Meanwhile, at a great mountain in Xibei, shrouded in his black robes and faint black mist, the Sky Demon Cult's Saint sat upon the peak.

The appointed day has arrived—this was where he would meet the Dragoncroc Emperor.

He did not move an inch and remained there from 3 pm to 6 pm before finally getting impatient.

Rising to his feet and pacing around the peak, he muttered, "Why hasn't the Dragoncroc Emperor arrived?"

He waited for two more hours, but there was still no sign of the Dragoncroc Emperor even after night had fallen.

That was when a figure flew towards him, landed beside him and knelt on one knee, saying, "Your Holiness…I received word that the many elites of Hua Nation are on the move! They are charging into the wildlands, bent on taking the heads of every Feral King!"

"What?"

An astonished, hoarse voice could be heard from beneath Sky Demon Cult's Saint robes. "Damn it…the Dragoncroc Emperor is so useless!"

He already had a hunch.

The Dragoncroc Emperor…

Might already be dead.

If it wasn't for that, the Hua Nation would not have the guts to make such a bold move.

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Chapter 264: Two Dog Li

The Dragoncroc Emperor was dead!

If not for that, the Hua Nation would not have dared to go out in force and slaughter all those Feral Kings.

The Sky Demon Cult's Saint just had a feeling.

But feelings were feelings, and he still found it hard to accept from the bottom of his heart.

Who could have killed the Dragoncroc Emperor?

With its cultivation, the Dragoncroc Emperor could hardly be killed unless it was overwhelmed by superior power. In fact, it was unlikely even if every Void-tier elite of the Hua Nation were to go after the beast.

Moreover, it could flee even if it could not win.

And once under water, the Dragoncroc Emperor was even harder to kill, not to mention that the ancient daemon cultivator had its back.

"Send word to every believer near Lingzhou City and Xibei to continue their infiltration, and that they are not to move on their own without my orders," the Sky Demon Cult's Saint growled as he took to the air, turned into black mist, and vanished.

Even so, his voice continued ringing upon the ears of the kneeling cardinal. "We'll hold off on the plan to ambush Lingzhou City for now. I'm personally visiting Shennongjia!"

The black mist advanced in the night, moving more than three times the speed of sound and soon covering thousands of miles to arrive at the shores of the lake in Shennongjia.

As he stood beside the lake, the Sky Demon Cult's Saint released his spirit, extending it into the lake and searched, but did not find any trace of the Dragoncroc Emperor at all.

After a closer look, he noticed several huge craters on the shores, which formed from the bursts of strength as Jiang He and the Dragoncroc Emperor clashed. The plant life and even the mountain boulders nearby were all a mess as well, crushed by the shockwaves generated in the fight.

Moreover, countless aquatic lifeforms in the lake were floating in the surface, killed when they caught in the crossfire.

Even as the Sky Demon Cult's Saint carefully reached out his senses, his eyes lit up beneath the robes as he growled, "Sword will… a terrible sword will lingers in this place. The one who had killed the Dragoncroc Emperor must be a specialist in sword wielding!"

"And he had slayed the Dragoncroc Emperor all my himself!"

Charging a secret technique, black mist arose around the Sky Demon Cult's Saint, capturing the sword will and Daemonic Qi in the air.

His figure suddenly shook as he exclaimed in astonishment, "A Yuan Spirit eminence had fought too?"

Just then, the Sky Demon Cult's Saint forgot to conceal his voice due to her inward shock.

It was a woman's voice!

He…or more correctly, she.

Yan Dehao had mentioned before that no one knew the gender of Sky Demon Cult's Saint, but she now appeared to be a woman.

"No, it's not really a Yuan Spirit eminence but a Yuan Spirit clone… it must be the ancient daemon cultivator supporting the Dragoncroc Emperor!"

Gasp!

The Sky Demon Cult's Saint could not help inhaling sharply at the thought before crying out involuntarily, "That ancient daemon cultivator could not save the Dragoncroc Emperor even though it interfered. Could a human elite have awakened from their slumber?"

She took to the air and flew towards the distance, even as she thought, 'If every slumbering human elite did awaken, it would be very difficult even if my kin were to attempt descent upon earth!'

She flew toward Miaojiang in a single breath and entered a grand mountain.

The mountain appeared plain, but was actually laden with arrays. The Sky Demon Cult's Saint held up a token plate and infused her aura, and the array shifted aside.

Behind the arrays were a completely different world.

There was a huge canyon surrounded by mountains, amidst which toxic miasma swirled.

On two ends of the wall were curiously-shaped stones seemingly sculpted masterfully.

There were many buildings, courtyards, and pavilions within the canyon, with roads and paths tiled with limestone, giving it the air of a small ancient town resembling Shangri-la.

As the Sky Demon Cult's Saint walked upon the air, any believer looking at her would drop to a kowtow, crying out "Your Holiness."

Meanwhile, she traversed through the many buildings and arrived upon a huge temple, and opened the entrance into the Secret Realm within.

There was a lake inside.

Though not exactly wide, its waters glimmered with an unusual grayness and was churning with bubbles as if it were boiling, although it was exuding an intimidating chill even though the waters should be burning.

The Sky Demon Cult's Saint leapt into the lake, barring the water from reaching her with Demonic Qi as she descended to the bottom.

A gigantic snake lay at the depths.

It was a colossal 300 meters in length, and it resembled a krait in appearance with its alternating bands of black and silver scales, whereas its head was a flat triangular form.

"Master…"

The gigantic spoke human tongue then—it was a Feral Emperor.

Moreover, Daemonic Qi rolled upon its body. It had clearly cultivated a powerful secret daemonic technique and did not lose out to the Dragoncroc Emperor in terms of aura.

The Sky Demon Cult's Saint gave the snake a look just then. "I'm opening the shrink to contact the realm beyond."

In response, the gigantic snake opened its mouth and spat an ice-cold Daemonic Qi at the bottom of the lake, causing it to rumble as a stone shrine materialized. The Sky Demon Cult's Saint landed on top of the shrine and cut her skin before dripping a drop of blood upon it, causing it to erupt in scarlet radiance that enshrouds her.

At the same time, on a withered planet beyond earth's atmosphere, an armored Sky Demon champion turned towards the shrine beside him as he opened his eyes. The long-dormant stone shrine was glowing faintly in bloody radiance, and his godly consciousness emanated to mingle with the bloody radiance.

The champion frowned then and answered in sky demonese, "Preparations are not in place. The Stargate would be unstable if opened ahead of time, greatly limiting the forces that could enter…"

Even so, the champion did not delay in relaying the message to the sky demons' hierarchs.

Four hours later, there was a reply.

The armored sky demon champion activated the shrine again to send it back to Earth.

At the bottom of the lake, the Sky Demon Cult's Saint stepped down from the shrine.

The giant snake swam and placed its head beneath her feet.

It straightened to send her above the lake before opening its jaw to bellow.

The Sky Demon Cult's Saint stroke the creature's flat head and laughed. "I know, you're getting impatient from waiting beneath such a tiny lake, but no worries—in half a month, you shall come with me as we slaughter our way into Lingzhou City, offering the hundred thousand souls within as blood sacrifice to receive the legions of our kind!"

"When the time comes, you shall kill and devour your fill."

Delighted, the snake thrashed wildly in the lake and splash waves, laughing in human tongue, "Master, I'm getting impatient…"

The Sky Demon Cult's Saint laughed and left the Secret Realm, returning to the temple.

She summoned the only survivors of the Sky Demon Cult—Elders Seventh to Nine, as well as the four Holy Children, and said, "Send word to every believer across the group: all must return in three days."

"I will release the treasure vault to aid you in improving your abilities. The Holy Lake would also be open for you to aid your ascension to divine-tier."

"Thank you, Your Holiness!"

Delighted, the three elders and the four holy children knelt in gratitude.

Jiang He returned home at five in the evening on the twenty-fourth of October.

He was feeling relaxed at the peace and quiet in Jinyintan Village…He had been strolling around the streets from yesterday afternoon to the next morning. The only interesting part was when Jiang He had encountered a cliché plot.

He had run into some rich kid in Jingdu City showing off his reaches in his face, so Jiang He bought the entire supermarket to avoid the conflict from escalating…

What confused Jiang He most was what Sora, a maid, would buy so many clothes for?

And there were all sorts of styles…could she be changing into a different set every night?

Tut, tut.

He was getting riled up at the very thought.

Even so, Jiang He was feeling melancholic and helpless too.

'The Nine Heavenly Stars Body Formula is so unserious,' he complained.

Surely he can't plant an entire harm, can he?

As he put his farm back in his farmyard, Dumbo, Trumbo, the Seven Bottle Gourd Brothers, and the two golden eaglets all dashed out like donkeys freed from their shackles and started fooling around.

They were almost losing their minds from confinement over the last few days.

While Sora went to prepare dinner, Jiang He idled and was about to plant another wave of Doom Shrooms when a car honk sounded outside.

"Old Jiang!"

Li Fei, whom he hadn't seen for some time stepped in through the front gates, smiling, "Old Jiang, Chief Duan had me send you some rice seeds…where should I put them?"

"Jiang He." Another voice called out then.

Wang Siyu had come with Li Fei.

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